Tennis

Hanescu upsets Dolgopolov in Nice semis

Published May. 20, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Nicolas Almagro of Spain beat Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-4 on Friday to line up an Open de Nice final against Romania's Victor Hanescu.

Almagro slammed an ace to take the first set against his Czech Republic opponent and broke the second-seeded Berdych in the next set at 2-2 before holding serve to seal a place in Saturday's final.

The third-seeded Almagro will be looking to win a third title on clay this season.

In the earlier semifinal, Hanescu upset fifth-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-3, 6-3 to reach his first final of the year.

Hanescu broke Dolgopolov once and saved two break points to take the first set. The 69th-ranked Romanian opened up a 4-1 lead in the second set before hitting a backhand winner down the line to clinch victory.

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