VINA DEL MAR, Chile (AP)—Top-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy defeated No. 3 Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5) Saturday to reach the final of the Royal Guard Open clay-court tournament.
Fognini will be playing on Sunday for his third ATP singles title. The other two came last season on clay.
Almagro has 12 singles titles — all on clay — and was gunning for his 13th. Six of his titles have come on clay in Latin America, although he has never won a title in Chile.
Fognini will be a strong favorite in the final on the outdoor surface against unseeded Leonardo Mayer of Argentina, who defeated Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the other semifinal.
This will be Mayer's first singles final. He has one title in doubles.