| Federer Still On Course For Hat-trick Roger Federer booked his place in the final of the Pacific Life Open with a 6-2 6-3 win over Paradorn Srichaphan.
The world number one was never in trouble against the unseeded Thai as he remained on course for a third straight victory at Indian Wells.
Srichaphan had knocked out seeds Juan Carlos Ferrero, David Nalbandian and Jarkko Nieminen to reach the last four of the event.
However, there was to be no shock result against Federer, who cruised through the opening set to take a 1-0 lead.
This year's Australian Open champion did endure a brief blip at the start of the second set, though, as he lost his opening service game.
But he reeled off the next five games in a row to set up victory as he reached his 10th consecutive final.
Rafael Nadal and James Blake play in the second semi-final to decide who will take on Federer on Sunday.
Young Spaniard Nadal is the only man to beat the current Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion this year. |