Federer will meet the defending champion in Monaco on Sunday

Federer, who had never previously gone past the quarter-finals in Monaco, produced a near faultless display in Saturday's semi-final.

Defending champion Nadal, meanwhile, had a far tougher match as he came back from a set down to beat Gaston Gaudio.

The Spanish second seed eventually came of the court victorious 5-7 6-1 6-1.

The 19-year-old left-hander has now chalked up a remarkable 41 successive wins on clay.

That leaves him third on the all-time list behind Guillermo Vilas (53) and Bjorn Borg (46).

"It was my toughest match this week," said Nadal afterwards. "He had beaten me three times on clay before and I knew it would not be easy."

Federer and Nadal have already met once this season - in Dubai - a match the teenager won.

And the Swiss star said: "I want to take revenge for Dubai in the final. I've had a great week and I'd love to finish it with the title.

"He is on a string of 41 wins on clay. I'll try to end his run. I'll try to beat him on his best surface after he beat me on hard court."

Nadal added: "He has only lost one match in 2006. If he plays at his usual level, it's going to be tough. Playing five sets could be an advantage for me."