Third-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada advanced to the Japan Open tennis final on Saturday with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 win over Croatian Ivan Dodig.
Raonic, coming off a Thailand Open title on Sunday, won six straight points in the tiebreak and cruised through the second set to reach the Tokyo final for the second straight year.
The 22-year-old, ranked 11th in the world, relied on his strong serve, hitting 12 aces and wrapping up the match in less than 90 minutes.
Raonic, who lost last year’s decider to local favourite Kei Nishikori, will play for his third trophy of 2013 against top-seeded Juan Martin del Potro.
The Argentine overcame sixth-seeded Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-1) to reach the decider.
Del Potro hit 12 aces to dispatch the Spaniard and is focus on a third title of the season following wins in Rotterdam and Washington.
Raonic advances to provisional 10th in the race for a spot in the eight-man ATP season-ending event in London.
The Canadian has Sunday’s final plus four more weeks to the regular season to try to book into the elite field at the O2 arena next month.
Dodig had beaten Raonic in the pair’s first two meetings, including on grass last summer leading up to Wimbledon.