British number one Dan Evans lost 6-2 6-3 to second seed Stefano Tsitsipas in the last four of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Evans, 29, had beaten two seeds - Fabio Fognini and Andrey Rublev - to reach his fourth ATP semi-final.
But he was never able to get a foothold in his first match against 21-year-old Tsitsipas, who won in 81 minutes.
The Greek world number six will face either Serb Novak Djokovic or Gael Monfils of France in the final.
"I just managed to stay solid throughout the whole match," said Tsitsipas, who was runner-up to Roger Federer in last year.