Roger Federer faces David Ferrer in Cincinnati final

Federer has lost in the final of his last two tournaments at Wimbledon and Toronto

World number three Roger Federer will take on Spaniard David Ferrer in the Western and Southern Open final in Cincinnati on Sunday.

Federer, 33, who beat Andy Murray in the quarter finals, continued his impressive form with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Canadian Milos Raonic.

It was equally comfortable for Ferrer as the 32-year-old brushed aside Frenchman Julien Benneteau 6-3-6-2.

Five-time Cincinnati champion Federer has not lost to Ferrer in 15 meetings.

Federer, who has failed to win a Masters title since Cincinnati in 2012, was meeting Raonic for the first time since this year's Wimbledon semi-final, where the Swiss also won in straight sets.

He won the first set without dropping a point on his serve, but the pace slowed in the second until Federer broke for 5-3 and served it out a game later after just 68 minutes.

"Breaking in the first game was crucial," said Federer. "It was more of a fight in the second set.

David Ferrer hit 20 winners on his way to victory in Cincinnati

"I'm happy, but the final is tomorrow and I hope to do it again. This time last year I came to the event with no expectations. But many things have changed since then.

David Ferrer took only 71 minutes to book his final place, saving just the one break point he faced and did not double fault all match on his way to victory.

The world number six has now reached at least the quarter-finals of all four tournaments he has played since losing at Wimbledon in the second round to world number 118 Andrey Kuznetsov, and will play in his first final in 11 visits to Cincinnati.

He said: "I played very consistently, and got the break, then I could play with calm. I played without a lot of mistakes but it was difficult to return sometimes."

There was disappointment for the unseeded Benneteau, who had reached the first Masters semi-final of his career with an eye-catching win over Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka on Friday.