Russian Daniil Medvedev earned a place in his first Paris Masters final on Saturday with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) victory over Canada’s Milos Raonic.

The 24-year-old, still looking for his first tournament triumph of the year after four victories in 2019, will now aim to win his third Masters title against either top seed Rafael Nadal or German Alexander Zverev, who play later in the other semi-final.

Medvedev, seeded third, broke Raonic’s formidable serve at 2-2 in the first set and opened up a 4-2 lead with a backhand winner.

Raonic, who made the Paris final in 2014, had three break points when leading 4-3 in the second set, but Medvedev patiently dismissed them all in lengthy exchanges.

“First set was amazing, second set was much tighter where I had to save a few break points,” said Medvedev in an on-court interview.

“It was shaky here and there but really happy to be through in the final.”

The world No.5 Medvedev missed the chance to serve out the match at 6-5 in the second as Raonic forced a tiebreak but opened up a 4-1 advantage in the breaker and eventually sealed his final spot with a smash volley.

Medvedev won two Masters titles last year in Shanghai and Cincinnati and said his chances of winning a third in a short answer were “mathematically 50 per cent.”