World number one Roger Federer swatted Australian Lleyton Hewitt aside 6-3 6-4 7-6 to reach the Wimbledon final and stay on course for a hat-trick of titles.
The Swiss will have to beat either second seed Andy Roddick or 12th seed Thomas Johansson on Sunday if he is to become the third man in the professional era after Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras to be men's champion for three years in a row.
Third seed Hewitt, the 2002 champion, knew he would have to be at his best to beat Federer but his play in the first two sets was littered with errors and even his famous doggedness could not keep him in the match.
Federer, who extended his winning streak on grass to 35 matches, secured victory in just over two hours by taking the third set tiebreak 7-4.
