Garcia-Lopez to play Gulbis in St Petersburg final

SAINT PETERSBURG: Veteran Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who is 74th in the world, earned his final spot after beating Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-1, 6-1.

She will play Latvia's sixth seed Ernests Gulbis in Sunday's final of the ATP tournament in Saint Petersburg.

The 25-year-old Gulbis, the last seeded player left in the field, earned a 6-3, 6-3 victory over unheralded Pole Michal Przysiezny in his semi-final on Saturday.

In the first semi, the first set went with serve until the eighth game when Gulbis, ranked 36th in the world, made the vital break-through.

Gulbis broke early to take control of the second set and although Przysiezny, playing in his first ATP semi-final, gamely fought in his bid to level, Gulbis broke again in the ninth game to advance into the fourth final of his career. (AFP)