SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) Top-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut advanced to the Sofia Open final by beating Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Saturday.
The Spaniard will meet the second-seeded Viktor Troicki for the first time in the final after the Serb took nearly 2 1/2 hours to put away seventh-seeded Martin Klizan of Slovakia 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Bautista Agut won 75 percent of his service points, and Muller did well to save six of seven break points. But after Muller dropped the opener in a tiebreaker, he was broken in the third game of the second set.
''I had to be focused until the last point. I had a lot of break points, but Gilles was serving really well,'' Bautista Agut said.
The final features players going for their second titles of the year.
The 18th-ranked Bautista Agut won his third career title last month in Auckland.
''It is the best start to a season that I have ever had,'' he said.
Troicki also won his third career title on the same day, in Sydney.
