14-Jan-2012
THE NEWS
SYDNEY: Journeymen Jarkko Nieminen and Julien Benneteau earned themselves a rare ATP title shot at the Sydney International after beating higher ranked semi-final opponents on Friday.
Finland’s Nieminen, 30, needed a marathon 26-point tiebreaker before prevailing over Uzbekistan’s 67th-ranked Denis Istomin 7-6 (14/12), 6-3 in 1hr 44min to reach his 12th career ATP final on Saturday.
French world No 49 Benneteau required six match points and won through a see-sawing 14-minute final game before seeing off Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 6-4, 6-4 in almost two hours. |
