Milos Raonic of Canada in action against Roger Federer of Switzerland during day thirteen of the BNP Paribas Open tennis at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 21, 2015 in Indian Wells, California.Julian Finney/Getty Images
There was no stunning upset this time for Canadian Milos Raonic.
A day after a stunning quarter-final win over Spain's Rafael Nadal, Raonic dropped a 7-5, 6-4 semifinal decision to Swiss star Roger Federer at the BNP Paribas Open. It marked the eighth time in nine career meetings that the hard-serving right-hander from Thornhill, Ont., has lost to the second-seeded Federer.
Raonic's lone win came in the quarter-final of the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris last October.
Raonic registered just eight aces in the match, which lasted less than 90 minutes. Among those in attendance was retired hockey star Wayne Gretzky.
Federer closed it out after rallying from a 30-0 deficit in the final game thanks to two unforced errors from Raonic. Federer didn't hesitate in finishing off the win, completing an easy volley on match point.
Federer will face Serbia's Novak Djokovic in the final Sunday. Djokovic beat Federer in last year's final but dropped the Dubai final to the 33-year-old Federer three weeks ago.
Djokovic defeated Andy Murray 6-2, 6-3 earlier Saturday to reach the final, handing Murray his worst hard-court loss against the world's top-ranked player since 2007.
"I had a phenomenal start of the season, and hopefully I can do my best tomorrow and maybe get another trophy," Djokovic said.
On Friday, the 24-year-old Raonic earned his first career win over Nadal. He had reached the quarter-final round or better at eight of his last 10 Masters 1000 events, a feat matched only by Federer.
Raonic played Federer tough as the Swiss star managed to earn a break in the 11th game of the opening set. A game later, the Swiss wrapped up the set with a solid forehand drive to the corner.
Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam champion, earned a break to start the second set, then saved a break point for 3-1 lead. Federer held for a 5-3 lead before going on to earn the victory.
Later on Saturday, Vancouver's Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Sock, the Wimbledon doubles champions, faced Australian Open victors Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli of Italy in for the doubles crown.