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9/26/09 3:06 PM | Ricky Dimon
Albert Montanes overcomes Santiago Ventura in three sets on Saturday afternoon to reach the Bucharest final. Montanes will face either Juan Monaco or Simon Greul for the title.
Santiago Ventura had to qualify just to get into the main draw of the BCR Open Romania. More than a full week after his Bucharest campaign began, Ventura found himself in the semifinals. He almost reached the final.
Albert Montanes came back from a set deficit to beat Ventura 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 51 minutes to just barely put an end to Ventura's impressive run. Montanes will now battle either Simon Greul or No. 3 seed Juan Monaco for the title.
Throughout the first set it was clear that Ventura had aspirations of going all the way in this tournament. The 112th-ranked Spaniard navigated his way through a competitive first set and used two breaks to take a 5-4 lead. He closed it out on serve at that point to seize a one-set advantage.
Breaks were not too difficult to come by in the second set, either, as both men struggled to win points when they had to toss in second serves. Ventura and Montanes exchanged one break of serve each until the underdog served at 4-5, just three games from the match and a place in the final. That's when Montanes grabbed the momentum; and never let it go. The fifth-seeded Spaniard won the second set courtesy of his third break of the match, and thus forced a decisive third frame of play.
Ventura could not bounce back in the final set. He won a mere four points in four return games, never glimpsed a break point, and gave away his own serve twice in three service games. Montanes took control from the baseline with his one-handed backhand and sprinted into Sunday's title match after what had been an even first two sets. The world No. 53 finished with one ace and three double-faults while winning 17 of 27 points at the expense of his opponent's second serve.
Montanes is bidding for his second ATP title of 2009, having prevailed this spring on the clay courts of Estoril, where he defeated James Blake in three sets after saving match points in the second.
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