Verdasco to face Raonic in San Jose final

SAN JOSE, California: Defending champion Fernando Verdasco will face unseeded Canadian Milos Raonic in Sunday's final of the 600,000-dollar ATP SAP Open after defeating Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-4.

Top seed Verdasco needed one hour and 36 minutes Saturday to beat del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion who was playing his first semi-final in more than a year.

The emerging Raonic, 20, advanced to his first ATP Tour final in a walkover after second-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils withdrew from the tournament with a left wrist injury.

Spaniard Verdasco broke del Potro's serve in the opening game of the match and cruised through the first set.

Argentine del Potro -- whose 2010 campaign was ended prematurely when he had wrist surgery in May -- mustered a break to lead 3-1 in the second set.

But Verdasco responded by breaking back and then earned the decisive break to lead 5-4 before serving out the match with a love game punctuated by an ace.

Verdasco and the big-serving Raonic have never played each other, but practised together twice in Australia last month.

Raonic is on the rise this year after making it through qualifying and then reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.

Ranked 152nd in the world at the end of 2010, he has climbed to 84th entering this week. With a victory in Sunday's final he could crack the top 60.