DELRAY BEACH, Fla.(AP) Qualifier Evgeny Korolev reached his first career final with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Christophe Rochus at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships on Saturday.
I'm very happy I won,'' Korolev said.Every tournament you play you hope to win it. This is the first time I'm in the final.
Korolev is the second consecutive qualifier to secure a final berth at this tournament. Kei Nishikori did not attempt to defend his title this year.
The 105th-ranked Korolev is the fourth qualifier to reach the Delray Beach championship. Besides Nishikori, Alex Calatrava was a finalist in 2000 and Andrew Ilie won the title in 1998.
``I just know that Nishikori was coming out of the quallies last year and I'll be happy to do the same thing,'' Korolev said.
Korolev, a first cousin of former player Anna Kournikova, is the first Russian to reach the Delray Beach final in the tournament's 17-year history.
Korolev pummeled the 60th-ranked Rochus in the first set with his heavy groundstrokes, particularly off the forehand.
In the second set, Korolev jumped out to a 5-2 lead and served for the match at 5-3. Rochus took advantage of a brief letdown by Korolev to hold serve at love in the eighth game and to break in the ninth game, but couldn't push his way into a third set.
Korolev will play the winner of the semifinal between top-seeded Mardy Fish and seventh-seeded Jeremy Chardy.