American John Isner has advanced to the Heineken Open final with a 6-2, 7-6 (5) win Friday over eighth-seeded Albert Montanes of Spain.
Isner will play Arnaud Clement of France, who defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 7-6 (2) in another semifinal, in Saturday's final.
Isner, who beat Montanes intheir one previous meeting last year in Auckland, assumed the set lead in just over 20 minutes with his opponent double-faulting on set point.
The 24-year-old Isner is through to his first ATP final since 2007 at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, where he was making just his second tour-level appearance. That week, he had five straight wins in third-set tiebreakers before losing to Andy Roddick in the final.
Last season, Isner posted a personal-best 27 match wins to rise more than 100 places in the year-end ATP rankings. He entered the 2010 season ranked a career-high No. 33.
On Thursday, Isner beat top-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
