BUKIT JALIL: Top seed David Ferrer of Spain will play compatriot and second seed Feliciano Lopez in the men’s singles final of the ATP Malaysian Open in Putra Stadium tomorrow.
Ferrer reached his first final after five attempts in the tournament by subduing unseeded Benjamin Becker 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the semi-finals today.
The World No 17 Lopez edged seventh seed Nick Krygios of Australia 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-5) in 85 minutes.
The World No 8 Ferrer is regarded as a complete player having won 24 titles but he will need something special to beat his equally motivated Lopez, who is determined to end the season with a title.
Tomorrow’s final is also the first time the top two seeds will battle for the title since Russian Nikolay Davydenko beat Spain’s Fernando Verdasco in 2009.
The Spaniards have met 14 times since 2005 with Ferrer recording eight wins.
“Lopez has been playing so well for over a year and he will be the favourite tomorrow. He is a good friend but friendship takes the backseat whenever we face each other in tournaments.
On his win against Becker today, the 33-year-old said he did not play to tactics in the first set.
“I changed my approach, focusing more on my forehand play as I was not serving well for points,” said Ferrer.
Lopez, a finalist in Quito in February, was an early round casualty in 2009 and 2012 in KL.
The 34-year-old, who has no plans of retiring, expects a tough final.
“I had a great season last year and this year, things have been quite good. I am playing well this week but it is not easy to beat Ferrer as most of our previous matches ended in three sets,” said Lopez.
Results
Men’s singles, semi-finals: Feliciano Lopez (Spa) bt Nick Krygios (Aus) 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-5); David Ferrer (Spa) bt Benjamin Becker (Ger) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4;
Doubles: Raven Klaasen (RSA)-Rajeev Ram (US) v Frantisek Cermak-RAdek Stepanek (Cze) 6-3, 6-4.