Japanese star Kei Nishikori was in superb form as he demolished Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 6-2 in the Brisbane International semi-finals on Saturday.
The 29-year-old gave his French opponent no chance as he put on a commanding all court display to advance to the final for the second time in three years.
After his impressive straight sets quarter-final win over Grigor Dimitrov, Nishikori said he had set his sights on returning to the world's top five after falling to 39 last April due to a wrist injury at the end of 2017 that forced a break from the tour.
He showed all the qualities of a top five player in his 66-minute demolition at the Pat Rafter Arena.
Nishikori was runner-up to Dimitrov in 2017 and will go into Sunday's final against fourth seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev as firm favourite.
Medvedev reached the decider with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-2 win over France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.