He might be the underdog but Juan Martin del Potro is excited to face 20-time grand slam champion Roger Federer in the Indian Wells Masters final.

Del Potro put in a scintillating performance as he crushed Milos Raonic 6-2 6-3 on Saturday to keep his hopes of lifting a maiden Masters 1000 title alive.

The 2009 US Open winner, however, faces a daunting task against defending champion and world number one Federer, who improved to 17-0 for the year after rallying past Borna Coric.

World number eight Del Potro, though, is relishing Sunday's encounter against the evergreen 36-year-old.

"Roger is the favourite to win," said Del Potro, who shocked Federer in the 2009 final at Flushing Meadows. "I would love to repeat my win from the US Open 10 years ago.

"But it means a lot play against Roger. He's a friend of mine. I admire him a lot. He shows the greatest sportsmanship on tour.

"It's an honor for me to play a final against him."

On the win against Raonic, Del Potro said: "I think I was lucky in both sets. Milos has a great serve.

"But I was very focused on my return game. I broke many times [4-of-5], and that was the key of the match."