By Erik Gudris | Saturday, January 10, 2015
Stan Wawrinka returned to the Chennai Open final where he will face a surprise finalist in qualifier Aljaz Bedene.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Top seed Stan Wawrinka will seek his second straight Aircel Chennai Open title in Chennai, India. The defending champion got past Belgium's David Goffin in Saturday's semifinal.
Federer Reaches Brisbane Final Against Raonic
The match featuring two of the hottest players on tour last season featured several stirring rallies as both men stayed level with each other for most of the opening set. That was until Wawrinka used aggressive hitting to break Goffin on his third set point to take it 7-5.
Each traded early breaks in the second set. Wawrinka made his move though in the sixth game by striking a huge return winner to break Goffin for 4-2.
A few games later, Wawrinka fired down a final ace on his third match point to seal the 7-5, 6-3 win in 90 minutes.
Waiting for Wawrinka in the final will be the surprise of the tournament in qualifier Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia. Ranked No. 156 in the world, Bedene found himself in the semifinal against No. 3 seed Roberto Bautista Agut.
After splitting sets, Bautista Agut would hold four match points in the final set. Unable to break Bedene at 4-5, the men soon found themselves in a tiebreak. Bautista Agut again held match points while up 6-5 and 7-6. Yet Bedene fought back and soon held match point of his own.
Winning a final rally, Bedene fell to his knees in celebration of the 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(8) win.
Bedene, now seeking his first ever ATP title, is the first qualifier in event history to ever reach the final.
Both men share a 1-1 head to head. Bedene defeated Wawrinka in Chennai back in 2013 in the quarterfinal stage. Wawrinka returned the favor by beating Bedene in the last eight of Chennai in 2014.