Cuevas reaches first grass final at Nottingham Open

NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) " Pablo Cuevas reached the first grass-court final of his career Friday after beating Gilles Muller in three sets at the Nottingham Open.

Before this week, the Uruguayan had two match wins on grass in his 12-year career. This week he's won four after beating Muller 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the semifinals.

Cuevas is eyeing a sixth career title against Andreas Seppi of Italy or Steve Johnson of the United States.

"I'm so happy to reach my first final on grass," Cuevas said. "I have played every match with more confidence and today I beat an excellent player on grass. Hopefully tomorrow I will enjoy it, too."

Cuevas has had to rally all week: He was a set down in the second round, saved a match point against Marcos Baghdatis in the quarterfinals, and trailed Muller by a set and 4-4. Muller had three break chances but Cuevas saved them all.

Muller hit 19 aces through the first two sets, but in the tiebreaker, trailing 6-3, he hit a double-fault to concede the second set.

The third set stayed on serve until the fifth game, when Muller was broken for the first time in the match, and smashed his racket in frustration.

Earlier, Johnson quickly finished off his quarterfinal with top-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa, who led 4-3 in the third set when darkness forced a suspension on Thursday. Johnson swept the last three games to complete a 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-4 win.