Sebastian Korda booked a spot in his fifth career final Saturday, with either Novak Djokovic or Daniil Medvedev awaiting him in the Adelaide International decider.
The unseeded American, son of former world number two Petr Korda, was in charge 7-6 (7/5), 1-0 when Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka called for a medical timeout before pulling out of the match.
Nishioka received treatment on his upper right leg and was forced to retire, casting a shadow over his preparations for the Australian Open this month.
"Very excited for the way I'm playing and a lot of confidence leading into the big one (final)," said Korda, 22, who won his first and only title on clay in Parma in 2021, while making two finals last year.
"Excited to play either one (Djokovic or Medvedev). It's always a great thing to learn from different kinds of players," he said of Sunday's final.
"It's going to be a great learning experience whatever the outcome and, you know, I'm going to go for the win."
Top seed Djokovic, who has an ominous 21-1 record since September, takes on Russian third seed Medvedev in an evening semi-final.
The world number five Serbian holds an 8-4 edge in their head-to-head, with 10 of the 12 showdowns coming on hard courts.
World number five Aryna Sabalenka surged into the women's final, crushing Romanian veteran Irina-Camelia Begu for the loss of just five games.
Her reward is a title-match against either world number two Tunisian Ons Jabeur or rising Czech teenager Linda Noskova as she hits her stride ahead of the opening Grand Slam of the year.
"I'm happy with the level I played today," said the Belarusian, who is targeting an 11th career title and a first since Abu Dhabi and Madrid in 2021, after winning 6-3, 6-2.
"She's playing a different style so super happy that I was able to be in the match.
"We did everything right in the pre-season, I think this is the key," she added in explaining her good early-season form, where she is yet to drop a set.
Begu had beaten seventh seed Jelena Ostapenko and fourth seed Veronika Kudermetova en route to the last four, but was no match for the power of the Sabalenka serve and her ferocious returns.
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