NEW YORK: Roger Federer moved within one victory of his fifth consecutive US Open title, firing 20 aces to overpower Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 on Saturday.

In a rematch of last year's final, the Swiss second seed stretched his US Open win streak to 33 matches and moved closer to his 13th Grand Slam title, one shy of the all-time record held by Pete Sampras.

Federer will meet either world number one Rafael Nadal or British sixth seed Andy Murray in the final. The 21-year-old Scotsman led 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 2-3 when his first Slam semi-final was stopped.

The Nadal-Murray match, shifted from Arthur Ashe Stadium to Louis Armstrong Stadium and started early in a bid to outrace the oncoming rain from Tropical Storm Hanna, will be finished Sunday, when the women's final will also be played.

Olympic champion Nadal defeated Federer in this year's French Open and Wimbledon finals and the Spanish left-hander replaced him atop the rankings last month, ending a Federer reign of 237 weeks.

By reaching his 17th Slam final, Federer matched Rod Laver for third on the all-time list, one behind Sampras and two shy of Ivan Lendl's record.

Federer is trying to become the first man to win two Slam events five times in a row, having turned the trick last year at Wimbledon, and would be the first man since Bill Tilden in 1924 to win the US title five times in a row.