Bernard Tomic has cast aside his feud with Tennis Australia and arrest in Miami to reach the final in his title defence in Bogota.
Tomic thwarted German veteran Michael Berrer's quest to become the oldest first-time winner on the ATP tour with a 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) semi-final win on Saturday.
Improving his perfect record in the Colombian capital to 8-0, Tomic rallied from a service break down in the deciding set to see off 35-year-old Berrer after two hours and 18 minutes.
"Last year I was more relaxed and had nothing lose," said Tomic. "This year I'm obviously defending my title and it's different.
"I'm just very happy with what I did this week and the memories from last year are coming back."
The world No.29 fired 23 aces, claiming 74 per cent of first-serve points, while saving seven of eight break chances to book a final against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.
Mannarino earned a chance to win his first ATP title by beating Croatian top seed Ivo Karlovic - who Tomic defeated to claim the title last year - 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5).
Karlovic, ranked 23rd, served 17 aces and didn't allow a break point against Mannarino but struggled in both tiebreakers.
It is the second career final for the 33rd-ranked Mannarino, who this year was runner-up in Auckland.
Chasing his third career title, Tomic will look to extend his 1-0 head-to-head edge over Mannarino when the pair square off on Sunday, having beaten the Frenchman in the Acapulco first round in February.
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