VIENNA (AP)—Defending champion Jurgen Melzer and Andreas Haider-Maurer set up the first all-Austrian final for the Bank Austria Trophy in 22 years.
The top-seeded Melzer beat Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-4 and Haider-Maurer defeated Michael Berrer 7-6 (6), 6-7 (1), 6-3 Saturday in the other semifinal.
“It’s great for Austrian tennis to have a climax like this,” Melzer said.
The 12th-ranked Melzer, who has only won two of his nine career finals, reached his second final of the season after losing to Andrey Golubev in Hamburg in July.
The 157th-ranked Haider-Maurer had never reached the quarterfinals of an ATP event. He lost in qualifying before entering the main draw as a replacement for Ernests Gulbis.
“It’s just unbelievable,” the 23-year-old Haider-Maurer said. “I am so excited all week that I can’t sleep more than four or five hours a night.”
It’s the first all-Austrian final of the tournament since Horst Skoff beat Thomas Muster in 1988.