Spanish second seed Juan Carlos Ferrero today cruised to a semi-final showdown with Roger Federer at the Rome Masters by sweeping aside Germany's Rainer Schuettler 6-4 6-4.
Federer, the fourth seed, beat home favourite Filippo Volandri 6-3 5-7 6-2 in an earlier quarter-final.
Schuettler, who lost the final of January's Australian Open to Andre Agassi, had no answer to Ferrero's precise topspin groundstrokes on Rome's slow clay courts.
Ferrero quickly raced to a 5-1 lead and despite losing his serve in the eighth game, wrapped up the first set in a little over half an hour.
He then broke decisively in the ninth game of the second set to serve for match before closing out with an ace.
The victory continued the Spaniard's excellent run on clay this year, he has won 21 of his 22 matches, and set up an intriguing encounter with Federer, who has dropped just one set in his last nine claycourt games.
Ferrero and Federer have won five tournaments between them so far this year.
"It's the match everyone was hoping for," Federer told reporters after watching the Spaniard progress to the semi-final. "He's been playing some great tennis and I've got lots of confidence.
"Sure, he's got more experience than I have on clay, but I'll try to mix it up a bit and hopefully I can give him a good match (on Saturday)."