Milos Raonic edges Kei Nishikori to reach Brisbane International final

Brisbane: Milos Raonic fired 34 aces to grind out a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) win over second-seeded Kei Nishikori on Saturday to reach the Brisbane International final.

The third-seeded Raonic appeared to grow in confidence as the match progressed, earning three match points with an ace in the third tiebreaker and then clinching it in two-and-a-half hours with a stunning forehand service return.

It was his second win in six head-to-heads with Nishikori, who beat him in five sets in the fourth round at the US Open, en route to the final and again in the final of the tournament in Tokyo last year.

Third-seeded Raonic will play the final against the winner of the later match between No.1-seeded Roger Federer and No.4 Grigor Dimitrov.

"We've played many times now, it's always been a long one," said Raonic, who concentrated on improving his serve over the off-season.

Neither player dropped serve in the match, meaning Nishikori exited the tournament without dropping a service game.

Eventually, though, the quick points Raonic was able to pick up on his booming serve made the difference.

The Canadian backed up his serve with 64 winners, twice as many as Nishikori, and had 38 unforced errors as he pushed the limits.

Each set turned on one error at the same stage of the tiebreakers.

Nishikori forced an error with a powerful service return in the first for a 5-4 lead. He served a double-fault in the second to give Raonic the 5-4 advantage with two serves to close.

Raonic got set point with a wide, kicking second serve that took Nishikori out of court and followed it up with a forehand winner.

Nishikori rushed to a floating backhand and over-hit it, allowing Raonic to level at 1-1.

The tiebreaker was on serve until Nishikori missed a forehand with the court wide open, and Raonic took over from there.

No.1-seeded Maria Sharapova was playing No.2 Ana Ivanovic in the women's final on Saturday night.

Venus Williams won her first title of the year when she recovered from a set and a break down for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over top-seeded Carolina Wozniacki in the final of the ASB Classic at Auckland, New Zealand.

Her sister, Serena Williams, was aiming for a third Hopman Cup title when she partnered John Isner in the US team against Poland in the final, later Saturday in Perth (Australia).