Sat Oct 11 13:41:30 2008

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Monfils, Petzschner to meet in Vienna final

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Vienna, Austria (Sports Network) - Gael Monfils of France and German qualifier Philipp Petzschner were semifinal winners Saturday at the Bank Austria Tennis Trophy tournament and will meet for the title on Sunday.

The eighth-seeded Monfils earned a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2) triumph over Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, while Petzschner rallied for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 triumph over 2004 champion Feliciano Lopez of Spain.

After blowing a 40-0 lead while serving for the match at 6-5 in the third set, Monfils quickly established control in the tiebreaker by capturing the first four points. He went on to close it out and reach a final for the first time in 2008.

Monfils is just 1-4 all-time in ATP title matches, with his lone crown coming at Sopot in 2005. His best previous finishes this year were a trio of semifinal setbacks, including a loss to Roger Federer at the French Open.

Two weeks ago in Bangkok, Monfils also reached the semifinals. He beat Petzschner in the quarterfinals before losing to fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Petzschner will now get a chance to avenge that setback on Sunday in his first-ever ATP final. He was just 5-8 in singles play this year before this week's run to the title match.

Sunday's champ will earn a first prize of $185,000.