Top seed James Blake will play tournament specialist Xavier Malisse in the Delray Beach International final on Sunday.

American Blake, the world number six, beat Germany's Benjamin Becker 6-3, 7-6 after Belgian Malisse had crushed Vincent Spadea 6-2, 6-2 in windy conditions on Saturday to reach the final for the fifth time.

There was little to separate Blake and Becker who were level at 2-2 when rain stopped their semi-final for almost an hour. When the match resumed, Blake broke serve and went on to clinch the set.

The second set went to a tight tiebreak and Blake finally clinched it 9-7 to see off the fourth seed.

Third seed Malisse, who lost to Tommy Haas in last year's final, eased to his 199th career victory against American Spadea.

"Hopefully, I'll get to 200 tomorrow," Malisse told reporters. "There was a little less wind than I thought today and I felt good. My serve's getting better every day."

Malisse's record against the world's top-10 players is solid with 10 wins in 27 matches. He beat world number two Rafael Nadal in the Chennai semi-finals last month.

Malisse laughed off suggestions from reporters that a recent decision to cut off his trademark ponytail would weaken him.

"It has been seven years," he joked. "I needed the change."