Andy Murray beat France's Lucas Pouille in straight sets to reach his second Dubai Championships final.
The world number one, who was involved in a epic 31-minute tie-break in his quarter-final, struggled in the first set against seventh seed Pouille.
The pair broke each other twice before Britain's Murray took the set 7-5 with his third break after 68 minutes.
The final set was a one-sided affair as Murray won 6-1 to set up a meeting with Fernando Verdasco in Saturday's final.
Earlier the 33-year-old Spaniard beat Dutchman Robin Haase in three sets.