Berdych to face Wawrinka in Rotterdam final

Tomas Berdych moved within a victory of retaining his World Indoor Tournament title in Rotterdam with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 defeat of eighth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon on Saturday.

The Czech faces Stanislas Wawrinka in the final after the fourth-seeded Swiss edged out Canadian Milos Raonic 7-6(3), 7-6(7) in a match dominated by powerful serving.

Third seed Berdych was totally dominant, offering up only one point on his serve throughout the 58-minute encounter.

"My game was good and the game plan was even better," Berdych told the ATP's website (www.atptour.com).

"I need to keep going as there is still one more match to go. I want to go all the way."

Simon beat top seed Andy Murray on Friday but could not cope with the Berdych onslaught.

"We have worked really hard on my serve. I was able to control it today," added Berdych.

Wawrinka entered his match having won all three of his previous meetings with Raonic and preserved his 100 percent record against the second seed despite watching 15 aces whizz by his outstretched racket.

In a match featuring seven break points but no breaks of serve, Wawrinka won both tiebreaks to reach his second final of the year following his success in Chennai at the start of the season.

"In general I've been playing really well," said Wawrinka. "I've been really aggressive and moving well in the rallies.

"I served well when I faced a break point. It's only one or two points that make the difference and I played good tiebreaks."

Looking ahead to the final, Wawrinka added: "He (Berdych) won here last year so he will be very dangerous. I need to play my best game to have a chance to beat him."

Image: Tomas Berdych

Photograph: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images