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Nieminen To Play Benneteau In Sydney Final Back To Main

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.