(CNN) -- While Rafael Nadal enjoys a fishing trip in his native Mallorca, Roger Federer is closing on his Spanish rival's No. 2 ranking and his Masters titles record after reaching the final in Madrid.
Nadal, like Novak Djokovic, couldn't wait to get away from the controversial blue clay at the Caja Magica but Federer has made the best of the situation and thrashed Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday in a one-sided semifinal.
Waiting in the final is Tomas Berdych, who beat a tetchy Juan Martin del Potro 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) earlier in the day.
Federer will move above Nadal in the rankings if he wins his third Madrid title, and will also equal the Spaniard's record of 20 Masters titles.
"I didn't even know actually about the No. 2 ranking," Federer said. "I'm focused on what I am doing here this week, trying to play well and get on a bit of a roll and I have played better and better as the tournament went on."
Tipsarevic had knocked out fellow Serb Djokovic a day earlier, taking advantage of his compatriot's dislike of the blue clay surface.
But in a match watched by Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, Tipsarevic was no match for Federer, who hit 25 winners to take his head-to-head record over the Serb to 5-0.
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Fernando Verdasco kisses the blue clay in Madrid after beating world No. 2 Rafael Nadal in a huge upset. "I never was in control of the match, I didn't know how to win a point," said Nadal, who is the modern era's "King of Clay."
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Federer's possible rise to No. 2 in the rankings is even more significant with the French Open looming. It means the 16-time Grand Slam champion could avoid playing Djokovic or Nadal until the final.
The victory also took Federer past the $70m mark in career prize money.
Federer will play in his 33rd Masters final on Sunday, while Berdych competes in his third.
The Czech sixth seed took advantage of several lapses by Del Potro, who was broken while serving for the first set and then disputed a series of line calls in the second set.
"He was my toughest match of the week," Berdych said.
Del Potro refused to shake hands with the umpire after the match but said later: "I lost because Berdych played better, and that's the only reason."
Berdych trails Federer 4-10 in head-to-heads byt has won three of their last five meetings.
Meanwhile, the ATP has confirmed that Australian journeyman player Sam Groth served a 263kph (163 mph) ace that broke the record for the fastest recorded serve.
Groth, ranked No. 340, delivered the serve at a Challenger tournament in South Korea to smash the previous record held by Ivo Karlovic at 251 kph (156 mph).
Federer described Groth's effort as an "incredible number."
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Nadal's shock exit only added fire to complaints the blue clay is too slippery. Even before his defeat, the Spaniard tweeted: "The history of clay court was on red. It wasn't on blue. Only one person wins -- the owner of the tournament."
Novak Djokovic, who beat Nadal in last year's final on red clay, has been an outspoken critic of the surface, saying: "I played my first official match on blue clay and I have to admit I was not very happy. Next time I have to bring skates instead of shoes, it was sooo slippery."
Not all the feedback has been negative. "I think it's the same, it's just you don't get as dirty," Serena Williams tweeted.
Nadal throws his towel -- emblazoned with the logo of sponsor Mutua Madrilena -- into the crowd. Tiriac says improving the experience for television viewers watching his $10.6 million tournament was a major factor in the switch to blue.
Performance specialist Alistair McCaw says the slippery surface isn't due to the color but the implementation. "The amount of clay covering the surface is lesser than normal. If you dig your foot into the surface and remove some of the clay, you will notice that the underlying surface is a hard rubber-like mat," he said.
The blue clay court is made the same way as the red, with bricks ground into tiny fragments and spread over the ground in two different layers. However, in Madrid these bricks are stripped of their iron oxide (the chemical that provides the original color) and then treated with dye.
The tournament is seen as an important buildup to the real clay court crown -- the French Open. Players have argued it's difficult enough adjusting to the conditions in Madrid, without then having to change their game at Roland Garros at the end of the month.
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