Top-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic held off Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) Saturday to book a title clash with Jack Sock at the ATP Delray Beach Open. Despite some shaky moments, Raonic fought off a set point in the second-set tiebreaker and closed out the match with his 17th ace of the night to advance to the meeting with Sock, a 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) winner over fellow American Donald Young. "You know it's going to be close, so it's about keeping disciplined and a positive attitude on the court," Raonic said. "He was coming so fast to my game and slice that I couldn't manage my backhands," del Potro said. "I tried my best, but he was too good." Sock will be seeking to add a second title of the year to the one he lifted in Auckland in January. He saved the only break point he faced in the match and won the last seven points of the second-set tiebreaker to seize the victory. Sock said his storming finish belied the challenge posed by Young. "It definitely could have gone either way in the first set," Sock said. "He's a tricky player in that he makes you play a lot of balls and can wear you down, but also has great hands at the net when he comes forward." Thiem-Carreno Busta final Dominic Thiem and Pablo Carreno Busta will face off in the final of the clay-court Rio Open. Thiem defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday to advance, and Carreno Busta ruined the night of 18-year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud, 2-6, 7-5, 6-0. Ruud was trying to become the youngest to reach an ATP singles final since Kei Nishikori nine years ago. Entered as a wild card, Ruud had a match point leading 5-4 in the second set. When he failed to convert, it all slipped away. "I didn't play too well in the last set," said Ruud, whose father Christian was a top-50 player. "I had my chances, obviously. I was one point away. Toward the end of the second and the third I just got into this rhythm I couldn't get out of." Thiem, who is 23, will be seeking an eighth ATP singles title, five of which have come on his favored clay surface. "Now I'm feeling really good again about my game," Thiem said after playing hard-court events. "On clay, I almost all the time feel great. I knew that this week was going to be very important because I didn't have much confidence before." — Agencies
