By Oliver Grassman
Bastad, Sweden - Local favourite Robin Soderling reached the Swedish Open final on Saturday, beating compatriot Andreas Vinciguerra 6-1 7-6 to set up a clash with Argentine Juan Monaco.
Monaco had earlier demolished holder Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-0 6-2 to reach his second final of 2009.
Soderling outclassed wild card Vinciguerra in the first set, but the World No.12 was unable to sustain his high level in the second and had to work all the way to clinch it.
Left-hander Vinciguerra served for the set at 6-5 in the tiebreak but Soderling broke back with some gutsy baseline play, finishing off the point with his heavy forehand. The second seed broke Vinciguerra again to lead 7-6 and served out the match.
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"Maybe unconsciously I was feeling that I was controlling the match but 'Vinc' played damn good in the second set," said French Open finalist Soderling, whose three ATP titles to date have all come indoors.
Monaco avenged his defeat against Robredo in the 2009 Buenos Aires final by crushing the third seed in one hour and five minutes.
The 25-year-old Argentine produced some excellent services in the first set and hardly made a mistake while Robredo produced a string of unforced errors.
The second set was almost as easy for the 61st-ranked Argentine, who crushed Robredo's dreams of a third title on Swedish clay. The Spaniard also won in 2006.
Monaco will bid for the fourth clay court title of his career against Soderling on Sunday. - Reuters
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