Milos Raonic and John Isner stayed on track for a meeting in the final of the San Jose Open tennis tournament, blasting their way past quarter-final opponents in quick time on Friday.

Canada’s Raonic, a two-time defending champion and top seed, sent down 14 aces in his 7-6 (7-0) 6-3 win over Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin.

His semi-final opponent will be American Sam Querrey, who outlasted Colombia’s Alejandro Falla 6-3 4-6 7-5.

Isner made it to the San Jose final four for the first time in his career, overpowering Belgian veteran Xavier Malisse 7-6 (10-8) 6-2 with his booming serve.

Next for Isner is another experienced campaigner in Germany’s Tommy Haas, who beat local wildcard Steve Johnson 6-4 6-2. The four semi-final berths are filled by the tournament’s top four seeds.

Isner saved two break points in a lengthy first-set tiebreaker. He relied on his huge forehand for two breaks in the second set and never let his strong serve slip during a quick 68-minute match.

Isner finished with 10 aces and no double-faults and made 67 per cent of his first serves. Perhaps, most importantly, the right knee bone bruising that kept him out of the Australian Open is no longer slowing him down.

“If I serve well, I can be in the match against anybody in the world,” Isner said.