Rafael Nadal may not be in the tournament to defend his crown due to a wrist injury, but a fellow Spaniard will take his place in the finals.

David Ferrer defeated Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 6-2, marching onto the finals at the Western and Southern Open on Saturday to face Nadal's famed nemesis.

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World No. 3 Roger Federer beat Milos Raonic in the other semifinals match, 6-2, 6-3, having little trouble in eliminating the Canadian.

The sixth-seeded Ferrer took only 71 minutes to dispose of the unseeded Frenchman Benneteau.

The 32-year-old Benneteau made his first semifinals appearance in a Masters event by upsetting Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka. But Ferrer, 32, proved he wanted to go into the finals, playing spectacularly by not committing any errors in the match.

Meanwhile, the 17-time Grand Slam champion Federer had little trouble defeating the hard-hitting Raonic.

Federer got off to a fast start as he broke the fifth-seed Raonic twice in the first set and continued on to the second set to finish off the Canadian in a match that lasted only 68 minutes.

The 33-year-old Federer's mentor is six-time Grand Slam champion Stefan Edberg who has been coaching him since January.

Edberg, who was inducted in the Hall of Fame last Aug. 4, is considered as one of the "super coaches" in the ATP tour.

Former French Open champion Michael Chang is coaching 11th rank Kei Nishikori.

Eight-time Grand Slam champion Ivan Lendl coached Britain's No. 1 Andy Murray but split up last May. Tennis legend Jimmy Connors coached players like Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova.

This is Ferrer's first finals appearance at the Cincinnati Masters while Federer have five and won them all.

Ferrer has never beaten Federer in all their encounters including last week's Rogers Cup quarter-finals. He hoped to win against Federer tomorrow.

"It's one important final for me ... I never beaten him," said Ferrer.

TagsDavid Ferrer, Roger Federer, Milos Raonic, rafael nadal, Kei Nishikori