Top seed planted

Acasuso upsets Pavel to reach Romanian Open final

BUCHAREST (Reuters) -- Argentine Jose Acasuso saved three match points on the way to beating top seed Andrei Pavel 4-6, 7-6, 6-1 on Saturday to reach the Romanian Open final.

In the most dramatic match of the tournament, home favorite Pavel stayed strong to win a tight first set and led 5-4 in the second before Acasuso, seeded No. 5, clinched it 7-4 in a tiebreak.

"The winning tiebreak determined my final victory," Acasuso said.

In the third set, the Argentine had few problems as Pavel made a number of unforced errors.

"I planned to reach the semifinal and now I'll play the final. It's not bad at all," Acasuso said.

In the first semi-final, unseeded Spaniard David Ferrer, No. 121 in the world rankings, crushed his compatriot David Sanchez 6-1, 6-2 in only 63 minutes.

"I did not hope for such a great performance, which I built step by step," Ferrer said. "It was my best match of the season."

 

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