France's Julien Boutter beat Britain's Greg Rusedski 7-6 7-6 to reach the final of the Milan indoor tournament today.
With both players possessing powerful services on the very fast Milan court, neither was able to break serve but Boutter always offered more in the semifinal with his powerful cross court back-hand.
The 26-year-old Frenchman, who entered the year 87th in the ATP rankings, claimed the first set 7-5 in the tie-break but was unable to cope with Rusedski's serve at the start of the second, with the Briton serving to love for three straight games.
But Boutter managed to produce the big shots when it mattered and Rusedski was never able to return well enough.
The gangly Frenchman fittingly won the match with an ace down the centre, taking the second set tie-break 7-3.
Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov was facing Switzerland's Roger Federer in the second semi-final.
Reuters