Top seed Tim Henman, of Britain, beat Dutch outsider Jan Siemerink 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) today to advance to the final of the 350,000-dollar ATP Copenhagen Open, where he meets defending champion Andreas Vinciguerra of Sweden.
Henman will be vying for his seventh singles title since he turned pro in 1993 although the Swedish holder will be emboldened by the fact that the Englishman has also lost in 11 other finals he has reached.
But he faces tough competition from a determined Vinciguerra, who knocked out Russia's rising star Mikhail Youzhny in Saturday's other semi-final, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.
The 19-year-old Swede, who defeated compatriot Magnus Larsson last year to take his first ATP title, made his extra year's experience on the ATP tour tell over the 18-year-old Youzhny in a fascinating two hour battle.
"(Youzhny) is pretty new on the tour and he hasn't played very much. But he is talented and took some wild chances," Vinciguerra's coach Anders Henricsson said.
Vinciguerra ought to have been able to win the match in just two sets but dropped the second set because of lack of concentration, Henricsson said.
"He lost his concentration and was a little too passive at the same time," he said.
Henricsson said he believed the left-hander stood a good chance against Henman in Sunday's final.
"He has really made a big jump forward since last year. He's not as vulnerable on his backhand side anymore and he also serves much harder," he said. -AFP