Murray cut down by razor Raonic

US Open champion Andy Murray was stunned by Milos Raonic 6-3 6-7 7-6 in the semi-finals of the Japan Open on Saturday, ending the Briton's defence of his Tokyo title.

Local favourite Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese player to reach the final of the $1.28 million Tokyo event after thrashing Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 6-2 6-2 in just 61 minutes.

Murray's temper erupted on several occasions, the Olympic champion smashing another racquet and yelling furiously at himself after blowing a 4-1 third set lead and two match points.

"He started the match well and I was slow to get off the mark," the world number three told reporters.
"There was always going to be a bit of residue from the last few months."

Murray was broken by the Canadian in the first game and a booming forehand by Raonic on his first set point forced the top seed into a shanked backhand which flew high into the crowd.

The Scot faced break points in the second set and angrily trashed his racquet for the second match in a row as sixth seed Raonic continued to blast winners past him.

But Murray, who also reached this year's Wimbledon final, dug in to win the tiebreak 7-5 with a fizzing backhand return onto the laces of Raonic on his first bite at the cherry.

Raonic, who has been taking rickshaw rides around ancient Tokyo and shown a keen interest in samurai swords, twice gifted Murray match points with double-faults at 5-6 in the decider.

Both times his serve bailed him out.

"He played well behind his first serve," said Murray, who had thrashed Raonic 6-4 6-4 6-2 in the fourth round of the U.S. Open last month. "That made it tough for me." 
 
RETRO RAONIC

Raonic, dressed like a throwback with 1970s-style striped shirt and headband, clinched victory with another vicious serve Murray could only slam long after two hours, 46 minutes.

"I wasn't being aggressive at the U.S. Open," said Raonic, who fired down 13 aces and won 82 percent of points on his first serve. 

"From the first match here I tried to play under my terms and turned it around."

Raonic, who also saved a match point in his quarter-final victory over Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic, promised to take care of business against eighth seed Nishikori.

"Nishikori is having a good week and is capable of great things," said the 21-year-old, chasing his third title of the year. 

"If I play on my terms and under control, then I think it will be in my hands."

Nishikori could be a handful in front of a Japanese crowd.

"It's hard to believe I'm in the final," said the world number 17, who knocked out second seed Tomas Berdych in the last round.

"Last night I played at over 100 percent. Today I was at 80 or 90. I've always struggled to play well in Japan with all the pressure. It's a dream to be in the final." 

Sharapova beats Li to make China Open final

World number two Maria Sharapova overcame home favourite Li Na in straight sets on Saturday to make the final of the China Open, while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga triumphed in the last four of the men's draw.

The 25-year-old Russian defeated Li, Asia's only Grand Slam winner, 6-4, 6-0, but it took the French Open champion a while to break into her stride.

Li sped to an early 3-1 lead due to some poor serving by Sharapova, including three consecutive double faults in one game, but the Russian fought back, winning three games in a row before taking the set with a break.

Sharapova continued her momentum into the second set, taking six games without reply to steamroller her opponent in little over half an hour.

World number one Victoria Azarenka and ninth seed Marion Bartoli meet in the other semi-final on Saturday.

In the men's draw third seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France marched into the final when Spain's Feliciano Lopez retired during the second set of their match.

The world number seven thrashed Lopez 6-1 in the first set and was 4-1 up in the second when the left-handed Spaniard called it a day, citing an injury to his left wrist.

"I played really well and I felt really good on the court," Tsonga said. "I didn't know before he was a bit injured. I'm just happy today with my game."

The Frenchman has enjoyed an easy progression to the final of the Beijing tournament since needing three sets to overcome Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin in the first round.

The 27-year-old received a walkover in the second round after Nikolay Davydenko withdrew and beat Russia's Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets in the third.

"During this week my level has got better and better," Tsonga said.

"I have played maybe some of my best tennis here. I haven't played like this in couple of months and maybe a couple of years now and that's why I think I can win the final tomorrow."

Serbia's world number two and top seed Novak Djokovic meets Germany's Florian Mayer in the second semi-final on Saturday.

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