Novak Djokovic overcame his unhappiness about the court conditions to beat Spain's David Ferrer 6-4 6-4 and reach the Italian Open final.
The top seed raised his game at key points in both sets to earn the breaks.
But the Serb complained to the umpire in the second set about the conditions on the clay at the Foro Italico.
Djokovic will face either Stan Wawrinka or Roger Federer in Sunday's final with the Swiss pair due to play their semi-final at 19:00 BST.
The world number one broke the clay court specialist early in the opening set.