Andy Murray overcame a wet start to semi-final Saturday at the Western & Southern Open to book his spot in the championship match for a third time.

The two-time Cincinnati champion (2008, ’11) prevailed 6-3, 6-3 over fourth seed Milos Raonic, extending his career-long unbeaten run to 22 straight matches. It marks the 33rd straight ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event that has featured a member of the Big Four in the final.

“I didn’t get broken the last couple of matches and when I was in difficult situations I made good choices,” Murray said. “That’s helped keep the matches shorter. If you’re a bit lower on confidence, regardless of how fresh you are, if you haven’t played loads of matches you make bad decisions in those moments. And because I’ve won a lot the last few months, that’s something that has been good, especially this week for sure. I’ve needed it to be because I haven’t been feeling perfect. I’ve managed to get through the matches pretty well.”

As it has all week, rain steadily coated the Lindner Family Tennis Center Murray on Saturday. Murray and Raonic only played four points before the skies opened once again, halting the action for 12 minutes with the Scot holding two break points at 15/40. He would waste no time in snatching the lead upon resumption, breaking immediately with a dipping cross-court forehand that caught Raonic out of position.

Murray would overcome deficits in each of his first three service games, surviving a pair of break points in the process. His second serve defense was on song in claiming 67 per cent of such points in the 52-minute opener. The top seed continued to apply pressure on the Raonic serve in the latter stages, breaking to secure the first set and converting another break in the eighth game of the second. After letting a pair of match points slip while serving for it at 5-3, he would regroup to seal the victory after 90 minutes. A sublime drop volley clinched his spot in the final.

“I think he was trying to be aggressive,” Murray reflected on Raonic’s performance. “I think he made maybe more mistakes than usual because of that. Maybe it appeared that he was being more aggressive, but I felt like he made more mistakes because he was trying to be more aggressive than usual. That’s how it felt to me.” 

Murray, who fired 18 winners and saved all three break points faced, notched his fifth FedEx ATP Head2Head victory over Raonic this year, extending his overall lead to 8-3. Raonic, who struck 31 unforced errors, was bidding to leap to a career-high World No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Rankings with a win. Murray played the role of spoiler for a third time this year, after stopping the Canadian in his quest to reach a first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open and win his maiden major title at Wimbledon.

The Dunblane native, who joined the ‘600 Wins Club’ earlier in the week, will play for a third Cincinnati title and 13th at the Masters 1000 level against either Grigor Dimitrov or Marin Cilic. He previously defeated Novak Djokovic in the final in both 2008 and ’11.

“I think it’s going to come down to certain things,” said Raonic. “I got to obviously serve much better than I did today. Today I also did a better job of creating opportunities on his serve that I didn’t make count. I had three break chances and three second serves; I put the ball in twice. No, I put the ball in once on second serves.

“That is not a formula of success by any means. It’s going to come down to a few important points, playing them better, and obviously executing better than I did on my end of things when it comes to my service games than I did today.” 

Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo beat Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-1 to move into the final of the Western & Southern Open on Saturday. Rogers Cup champions Dodig/Melo are looking for their second consecutive ATP World Tour Masters 1000 doubles title and secured the win in 58 minutes, just before rain hit the tournament grounds.

The Croatian-Brazilian duo overcame an early push from Nester/Pospisil, saving all four break points faced in the opening set. The 2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals runners-up took the Canadians’ serve in the first game of the second set, then swept the last four games to move into their first final in Cincinnati. No. 5 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London, Dodig/Melo are well-positioned to advance to the prestigious year-end event for the fourth consecutive year.

Nestor is the defending doubles champion in Cincinnati, having won the title last year alongside Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

Dodig/Melo will aim for their fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title against either five-time Cincinnati champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan or Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau.

SEMI-FINAL PREVIEW: With a win in the Western & Southern Open semi-finals on Saturday, World No. 6 Milos Raonic would rise above Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal to reach a career-high No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. But as has been the case several times this season, Raonic must go through World No. 2 Andy Murray to achieve a major milestone.

Murray prevented Raonic from reaching his first Grand Slam final by coming back from two sets to one down in the Australian Open semis. Then, when the Canadian made it to the championship match at Wimbledon, it was the Brit who denied him a maiden major title. Even a 7-6, 3-0 lead in the London/Queen’s Club final was not enough for Raonic to overcome Murray, who has swept their last six FedEx ATP Head 2 Head encounters after losing three of their first four.

In the midst of a career-long 21-match unbeaten run, Murray could claim the 19th consecutive ATP Masters 1000 title for a member of the ‘Big Four.’ In addition, 33 straight ATP Masters 1000 finals have featured Murray, Federer, Nadal or Novak Djokovic. Keeping those streaks alive would also help Murray inch closer to Djokovic in the race to finish the 2016 season as World No. 1. Murray, who has spent seven stints and 65 weeks at No. 2 since 2009, would trail Djokovic by only 815 points in the Emirates ATP Race to London if he wins his third Western & Southern Open title.

World No. 34 Grigor Dimitrov meets No. 12 seed Marin Cilic in the second semi-final. Dimitrov is two wins from joining 1960 champion Miguel Olvera as the second unseeded player to win the Cincinnati title. However, he lost to Cilic in the first round of the Rio Olympics on August 6. Should he win the rematch, Dimitrov would be the lowest-ranked finalist at Cincinnati since No. 36 Mardy Fish in 2010 and at any ATP Masters 1000 event since No. 69 Jerzy Janowicz at 2012 Paris.

Like Dimitrov, Cilic is seeking a spot in his first ATP Masters 1000 final. Unlike the Bulgarian, Cilic is playing in his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final after eight quarter-final losses and 70 appearances at this level. The 71st time was the charm for Cilic, who advanced on Friday when his Davis Cup teammate Borna Coric retired with a right knee injury. Make no mistake, Cilic earned his semi-final berth. The 2014 US Open champion has won 90% of his first-serve points this week (100 of 111).

The doubles semi-finals feature five-time champions Bob and Mike Bryan against the players who ended their six-year reign atop the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings: 2015 year-end World No. 1s Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau. The Bryans lost their most recent meeting in the semi-finals of the 2015 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. In Saturday’s other semi-final, ATP Masters 1000 Toronto champions Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo take on Canadians Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil. Nestor is the defending Cincinnati champion with Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – Singles Semi-finals

[1] Andy Murray (GBR) vs [4] Milos Raonic (CAN) – Murray Leads 7-3
Murray 2016 FastFacts
• Tournament Note: Became 5th active player to reach 600 wins by beating Anderson in 3R. Now 21-0 since Roland Garros and 32-1 since ATP Masters 1000 Madrid. Seeking 50th win of 2016 (50+ in 6 of last 8 seasons)
• Captured 3rd Grand Slam title at Wimbledon (d. Tsonga in 5 sets, No. 9 Berdych and No. 7 Raonic)
• Became 1st British finalist at Roland Garros and 10th man to reach all 4 major finals in Open Era (l. to No. 1 Djokovic)
• Fell to 0-5 in Australian Open finals with 4th championship match loss to No. 1 Djokovic
• With J. Murray, became 1st brothers in Open Era to reach singles and doubles finals at same major (Australian Open)
• Successfully defended singles gold medal at Rio Olympics (d. del Potro 75 in 4th after 4h2m)
• Celebrated 29th birthday by beating No. 1 Djokovic for 12th ATP Masters 1000 title at Rome
• Defeated No. 8 Berdych and No. 5 Nadal en route to ATP Masters 1000 Madrid final (l. to No. 1 Djokovic)
• Rallied from 76 30 down to beat No. 9 Raonic and become 1st 5-time London/Queen’s Club champion (est. 1890)
• Extended Davis Cup win streak to 14 matches with 3 victories to lead Great Britain past Japan 3-1 in 1R

Raonic 2016 FastFacts
• Tournament Note: Playing for 4th ATP Masters 1000 final (0-3 at 2013 Montréal, 2014 Paris, 2016 Indian Wells)
• Became 1st Canadian man and 2nd Canadian overall to reach major singles final at Wimbledon (l. to No. 2 Murray)
• En route to Wimbledon final, earned 1st win from 2 sets down to beat Goffin, then defeated No. 3 Federer in 5 sets
• Also fell to No. 2 Murray in London/Queen’s Club final after leading 76 30
• Won 1st 9 matches of season, highlighted by 8th career title at Brisbane (d. No. 3 Federer)
• Upset No. 4 Wawrinka in 5 sets en route to Australian Open SF (l. to No. 2 Murray in 5 sets)
• Played in 3rd ATP Masters 1000 final at Indian Wells (d. No. 7 Berdych, Monfils and Goffin; l. to No. 1 Djokovic)
• Reached ATP Masters 1000 QFs at Miami (l. to Kyrgios), Monte-Carlo (l. to No. 2 Murray), Madrid (l. to No. 1 Djokovic) and Toronto (l. to Monfils)
• Advanced to Roland Garros 4R (l. to Ramos-Viñolas)
• Withdrew from Delray Beach, Acapulco and Davis Cup 1R due to muscular tear sustained in Australian Open SF

[12] Marin Cilic (CRO) vs Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) – Cilic Leads 2-1
Cilic 2016 FastFacts 
• Advanced to 3rd straight Wimbledon QF, falling to No. 3 Federer after leading by 2 sets and holding 3 MPs
• Reached finals at Marseille (l. to Kyrgios) and Geneva (d. Ferrer, l. to No. 4 Wawrinka)
• Also reached London/Queen’s Club SF (l. to No. 2 Murray in 3 sets) and Rio Olympics 3R (l. to Monfils in 3 sets)
• Fell to 0-8 lifetime in ATP Masters 1000 QFs at Indian Wells (l. to Goffin) – now 1-8 after beating Coric on Friday
• Snapped 11-match losing streak vs. Top 10 opponents with win over No. 10 Gasquet in Indian Wells 4R
• Helped Croatia reach Davis Cup SF with 3-2 wins over Belgium (d. Coppejans, l. to Goffin) and USA (l. to Sock after leading by 2 sets, w/Dodig d. Bryan/Bryan, d. Isner)
• Withdrew from ATP Masters 1000 events at Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome due to knee injury

Dimitrov 2016 FastFacts
• Tournament Note: Attempting to become 2nd unseeded champion in Cincinnati history (Miguel Olvera in 1960)
• Held 1 MP in Sydney final (l. to Troicki 76 in 3rd) and led 76 52 in Istanbul final (l. to Schwarzman 60 in 3rd)
• Advanced to SF at Delray Beach (l. to Ram) and QFs at Brisbane (l. to No. 3 Federer in 3 sets), Acapulco (l. to Thiem) and ATP Masters 1000 Toronto (l. to No. 6 Nishikori in 3 sets)
• Reached 3R at Australian Open (l. to No. 3 Federer in 4 sets) and Wimbledon (d. Simon, l. to Johnson in 4R)
• Snapped 7-match losing streak vs. Top 10 opponents by beating No. 2 Murray in Miami 3R (l. to Monfils in 4R)
• Suffered 6-match losing streak overall from May 1 to June 27
• Fell to No. 40 in Emirates ATP Rankings on July 18 – lowest ranking since No. 41 on February 11, 2013

Emirates Airline US Open Series Bonus Challenge Standings (through Aug. 19)

Cincinnati semi-finalists listed in bold