NEW YORK: As the losses piled up and the titles escaped him, Roger Federer insisted he felt fine, he wasn’t washed up and his game would come around.

Oh, did Federer look good against Novak Djokovic in the US Open semifinals.

Buoyed by a stellar start and a fantastic finish, carried all the while by strong serving, Federer beat Djokovic 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 to move one victory from a fifth consecutive US Open championship and 13th Grand Slam title overall. “One more match is all I need,” Federer said in an on-court interview.

It was his 33rd straight win at Flushing Meadows and put him in his 13th final in the past 14 major tournaments. The one gap in that span was the Australian Open in January, when Djokovic upset Federer in the semifinals en route to the title. Perhaps that gave Federer extra motivation yesterday, and he dominated the start and the last 11/2 sets.

Federer, who finished with 20 aces and only one double-fault despite a swirling wind, will meet No. 1 Rafael Nadal or No. 6 Andy Murray in the title match.

Federer was asked whom he’d rather face. A reasonable question, given that Nadal routed him in the French Open final, edged him 9-7 in the fifth set of the Wimbledon final, and supplanted him atop the rankings last month after Federer’s record 237-week stay at No. 1.

“Who do I prefer? I prefer the trophy, that’s what I prefer,” Federer said, drawing a roar of approval from the fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium. And then came an answer that might surprise some.

“I guess I’ve got to say Rafa,” Federer continued, “because we’ve had such great battles over the years.

Wimbledon was unbelievable, so I hope we can do it again here.”

Steady rain stopped play during the second men’s semifinal between world No. 1 Rafael Nadal and British sixth seed Andy Murray. Murray was leading Nadal 6-2, 7-6, 2-3 when play was halted at 1448 local (1848 GMT).

With heavy downpours expected at Flushing Meadows later, the match was moved from the main showcourt to Louis Armstrong Court and started one hour 40 minutes after the first semifinal between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Play began an hour earlier than scheduled on the main showcourt to try and get both semis finished before the arrival of the storm.

The women’s final between twice former champion Serena Williams and Serbian second seed Jelena Jankovic is scheduled to start at 0000 GMT but showers are forecast for the rest of the day.