Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic is through to the final of the Rome Masters to face Stanislas Wawrinka after his semifinal opponent Radek Stepanek retired when trailing 6-0, 1-0 on Saturday.

It meant that both semifinals ended early after Andy Roddick had pulled out of the first semifinal following just three games.

Djokovic said he was sorry for the fans but happy for himself.

"I don't like to win like this and I'm sorry for the fans who paid a lot for tickets to watch a great show," said the Serb.

"However, I'm happy to be in the final."

Stepanek put up next to no resistance in the first set, seemingly struggling with his physical condition.

He was a shadow of the player who was so positive against world number one Roger Federer on Friday.

There was none of the powerful serving and deep forehands that had caused so many problems for the Swiss Master.

Instead Djokovic dictated play from the off and Stepanek seemed to be helping his cause, double-faulting to hand the Serbian third seed the first set when already trailing 5-0, 40-0.

He received lengthy treatment at the end of that set but managed just one more game before quitting, much to the chagrin of the Rome crowd.

It was the second match in a row in which Djokovic was afforded comfortable progress after Spaniard Nicolas Almagro pulled out of their quarterfinal at the exact same stage, after one game of the second set.

AFP