Baghdatis Charges Past Troicki; Tipsarevic Stops Nishikori

© AFP/Getty ImagesJanko Tipsarevic will look to win his first ATP World Tour title.

Former World No. 8 Marcos Baghdatis advanced to his 11th tour-level final on Saturday at the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur 2011 as he snapped a five-match losing streak against Top 20 opponents with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over World No. 15 Viktor Troicki.

Two service breaks were exchanged in the opening stages before the Cypriot broke decisively in the eighth game to clinch the first set. He then broke his Serbian opponent three times in the second set to race to victory in 84 minutes.

The 26-year-old Baghdatis began the year at No. 20 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings but has tumbled to No. 60 after a mixed season that has been highlighted by just one semi-final showing at the UNICEF Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. to Dodig). He is through to his first ATP World Tour final since finishing runner-up to Troicki at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow 11 months ago.

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"It feels great to be in another final," said Baghdatis. "There's still one match to go. Today was a strange first set from both of us, struggling with our serves. But I stayed calm and focused on what I had to and played the important points better in the first set. I'm happy with the way I fought, and to win without spending too much time on court."

Currently 17th in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Year-To-Date Rankings, Troicki was looking to boost his outside chances of qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The Serb dropped to a 36-21 match record on the season.

In the final Baghdatis will hope to beat another Serbian player as he faces third seed Janko Tipsarevic. Tipsarevic defeated eighth seed Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-4, 6-3, breaking serve three times from four opportunities and saving all six break points he faced.

Baghdatis takes a 2-1 career lead into the final, but it was Tipsarevic who won their most recent contest in the 2010 Farmers Classic quarter-finals in Los Angeles.

"Both Marcos and I are playing good tennis," said Tipsarevic. "I know I have to play like I did today or better to have a chance to win the final tomorrow. Marcos is an experienced player, he will not give me the final. I will have to take it from him and play aggressively. I'm here to win one more match, if not then it's still been a good week overall."

The 27-year-old Tipsarevic is currently 13th in the Battle For London and will hope to boost his chances of qualifying for the season finale in November by winning his first ATP World Tour title. He is the highest-ranked player never to have won a title with four runner-up efforts to his name, including two this year at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (l. to del Potro) and the AEGON International in Eastbourne (l. to Seppi).