Rafael Nadal defeated Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori on Saturday to book a place in the final of the Melbourne Summer Set.
The Spaniard battled past Ruusuvuori by 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 56 minutes. Nadal who is targeting the 89th career singles title in Melbourne will now face American qualifier Maxime Cressy, who will be appearing in his first ATP Tour final.
Pressure mounted on Ruusuvuori in the first set, which ended with a double fault and a forehand error. Nadal broke clear for a 5-3 lead in the 69-minute second set when Ruusuvuori made another groundstroke error, but the 22-year-old bounced back immediately. Nadal regained his composure and the match ended with the Finn making a forehand error.
Earlier in the day, Maxime Cressy continued his dream run on Saturday at the Melbourne Summer Set. The 24-year-old reached his first ATP Tour final after the American knocked out former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 7-5, 7-6(9) in two hours and four minutes.
( With inputs from ANI )
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