Raonic makes finals at Brisbane International

Tomic ended 2014 U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori’s streak of three straight semifinal appearances at the Brisbane International with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 win, his first over a top 10 player on home soil.

Thiem, 22, settled into the match in the second set and took the fight to his 34-year-old opponent, but a lapse in the seventh game saw him drop his serve and Federer easily held on to book a place in the final.

His serve in the first set was nearly flawless, dropping just two points, and he appeared to be on course with break-point chances for another straight-set victory over the young Bulgarian – sometimes likened to him due to their similar styles – before Dimitrov rallied.

The Swiss will next meet rising star Dominic Thiem, who upset third seed Marin Cilic 2-6 7-6 (7/4) 6-4.

Milos Raonic, last year’s runner-up, was also back in action for the first time this season, and defeated Croatia’s Ivan Dodig 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-4.

In a repeat of last year’s final at the Queensland Tennis Centre, Federer and the Canadian once again promised a thrilling clash.

The defending champion said in an interview as quoted by the official website of men’s professional tennis that his quick-fire semifinals match with the Austrian was the best match he had in this year’s edition of the tournament.

Raonic, 25, broke the 17-time Grand Slam champion once in each set to take the final 6-4, 6-4, only his second win over Federer in 11 meetings.

“I’m feeling pretty good right now”, she said, “I’m not saying anything besides that”.

It is Raonic’s eighth ATP title and one of his most important as the current world No. 14 seeks to break into the top five this year and establish himself as a force to be reckoned with.

He laughed in disbelief, and could do nothing to stem Raonic’s big serve to close out the victory, 6-4, in an hour and a half.

Saturday’s final will also be the 99th of Nadal’s career.

“I’d like to congratulate Milos on a great start”, he said.

Azarenka won back-to-back Australian Open titles from 2012 and has reached the US Open final twice, losing both to world No 1 Serena Williams.

Federer’s serve was bullet-proof during the clutch moments, however, and the world number three closed out the contest with a booming ace on his second match point.

The last time the Serbian failed to reach a tournament final was when he lost in the quarterfinals in last year’s Qatar Open.

Still, the margins were thin between the two players, and the match hinged on a few crucial points in each set.

Federer had been improving every round after starting the tournament with a slight illness but was no match for Raonic, who served powerfully and came to the net at every opportunity.