Andrej Martin advanced to his first ATP World Tour final on Saturday at the Konzum Croatia Open Umag, continuing to show off his fighting spirit by defeating Carlos Berlocq, 7-6(4), 6-4.
Both players struggled on serve in the early stages of the opening set, with Martin and Berlocq recording six breaks in the first eight games. The pair traded service holds from 4-4 on to force a tie-break, where the Slovakian raced to a 4/0 lead. Martin then closed out the set on serve with his second set point.
The second set started with three straight service breaks as Berlocq used the early advantage to build a 4-2 lead. But just when it appeared the match would head to a third set, Martin reeled off four consecutive games to move into the final.
Martin, currently ranked No. 124 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, saved five match points on Thursday in his second-round win over seventh seed Martin Klizan. He will play fourth seed Fabio Fognini, who prevailed against Portugal’s Gastao Elias 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and five minutes. Fognini was nearly perfect with his serve, never facing a break point and winning nearly 90 per cent of the time he landed his first serve (23/26).
The 29-year-old Italian will play in his second Umag final (l. to Robredo) and his 11th career ATP World Tour final (3-7). He last took home a title in February 2014 (Vina del Mar, d. L. Mayer).
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