Los Angeles, USA, 29 July 2012 | Tennis Australia

Marinko Matosevic has fallen in the semifinals of the ATP Farmers Classic event in Los Angeles to Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis.

Berankis, a qualifier into the ATP 250-level event, continued his stellar run through the draw with an upset victory over Matosevic, the tournament’s sixth seed.

Berankis had beaten No.4 seed Nicolas Mahut in the quarterfinals.

The Lithuanian’s serve was the decisive factor in the match – despite a lower first serve percentage than the 26-year-old Victorian, he won 92 per cent of points on his first serve and never faced a break point.

Berankis broke serve himself four times, the first break coming late in the opening set – after a Matosevic forehand error – and helping him gain a one-set lead after 45 minutes.

Berankis, currently ranked No.141, moves through to his first ever ATP-level final and will face either second seed Sam Querrey or Rajeev Ram for the title.

Despite the loss, Matosevic is expected to improve his ranking to around the No.70 mark – a career high – thanks to his performance this week in Los Angeles.

He is next scheduled to contest ATP 500 event in Washington DC, beginning Monday 30 July.