Sat Jan 5 03:08:58 2008

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Nieminen defeats Tsonga in Adelaide

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Adelaide, Australia (Sports Network) - Finland's Jarkko Nieminen toppled Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Saturday in the semifinals of the Adelaide International.

The third-seeded Nieminen earned a 6-2, 6-4 victory over the sixth-seeded Tsonga to advance to the final round, where he will battle France's Michael Llodra, who dispatched Australian Joseph Sirianni in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (10-8), earlier in the day.

Nieminen has just one career ATP singles crown, capturing the 2006 title in an Australian Open tuneup at Auckland.

Llodra has advanced to the Adelaide final for the second time in his career. He was a finalist at the Aussie Open tuneup in 2004, the same year he won his lone ATP singles crown at 's-Hertogenbosch.