Stan Wawrinka nullified the serving attack of second seed Milos Raonic 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (9-7) on Saturday to set up a final with Tomas Berdych at the ATP Rotterdam World Tennis event.
The Swiss fourth seed fired 10 aces of his own while holding second seeded Raonic to 13 in a semi-final win lasting 98 minutes. Wawrinka now stands 4-0 over the Canadian.
Holder Berdych followed his game plan to the letter and reached his second consecutive final in Rotterdam with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Gilles Simon. The rout lasted just 56 minutes.
Wawrinka will be playing for his second title of the season after winning Chennai and then reaching the Australian Open semi-finals.
The world number eight kept Raonic in check throughout their semi-final, with Wawrinka sealing victory on his second match point after twice preventing Raonic from taking the contest into a deciding set.
"I'm really happy to be in final, it's amazing for me," said Wawrinka, who last played here a decade ago. "This is a great result.
"Milos is always so tough indoors, with his huge serve. it is always tough to break him.
"I focused on playing good tiebreakers and concentrated on my own game. You have to accept that he will hit a lot of aces.
"It was a great atmosphere and I'm happy to be in the final."
Wawrinka and Berdych will be playing for the 16th time, with the Swiss leading their series 10-5 after winning their last five meetings.
Berdych stayed in total control against semi-final opponent Simon as he swept to his ninth straight Rotterdam victory, losing only one point on first serve.
"It's good not to find anything wrong with your game," said a satisfied Berdych. "It was a really good match, solid from the beginning.
"Ãnd it all started with the right game plan. I felt very good on court, it was all positive for me. I was able to add something to to my game.
"I want to keep doing that for one more match here," said Berdych, who ended with 14 winners and breaks on four of five chances.
Berdych, who trailed Simon 3-6 coming into the match, said: "I did many things differently today compared to our last matches, this result is clear proof.
"I'm happy with how I handled it, with just the right amount of patience and choosing the right shots in the right moment.
"I created the moments for myself and got the situation to my liking."
Berdych won the opening set in 32 minutes with two breaks of Simony's serve and then picked up the pace as he hurtled to victory, advancing to the final on the first of three match points.
Source: AFP
