ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Canadian Milos Raonic won’t be playing for the World Tennis Tournament title.
The second seed from Thornhill, Ont., dropped a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (7) semifinal decision to fourth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka on Saturday. Wawrinka, the 2014 Australian Open champion, saved two set points against Raonic trailing 6-4 in the second-set tiebreaker.
Raonic, who missed three break-point chances in the seventh game of the second set, saved one match point at 7-6 down. But Davis Cup winner Wawrinka took his next chance.
Wawrinka will face defending champion Tomas Berdych, who beat Gilles Simon of France 6-2, 6-1. Berdych will bid for his 11th career ATP title, and Wawrinka his ninth.
Wawrinka leads their series 10-5.
The third-seeded Berdych won 95 per cent of his first serves, hit 14 winners, and converted four of five break-point chances.
"My game was good, and the game plan was even better," he said after improving to 4-6 against Simon. "We have worked really hard on my serve.
"I was able to control it."