TOKYO: France's 31st-ranked Adrian Mannarino secured a spot in the men's singles finals as he overpowered top seed Croatian Marin Cilic at Japan Open on Saturday.
Mannarino defeated big-serving Cilic, runner-up to Roger Federer at this year's Wimbledon, with a 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-0 win in a fierce match which lasted for nearly three hours.
The 29-year-old Frenchman now faces Belgium's David Goffin who beat Cilic in the semi-final in Tokyo last season.
Goffin, 26, booked a place in the finals after a tight two-hour match with eighth seed Diego Schwartzman from Argentina.
Goffin finished off Schwartzman, who put an end to the impressive run of world number 46 Steve Johnson on Friday, with a 7-6 (7/3) 7-6 (8/6) victory.
Both the first and second set went to a tie-break but the match ended when Schwartzman hit a backhand long of the baseline.
The Japan Open has been played since 1972 and its previous winners include a roll-call of the game's greats, including Ken Rosewall, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Federer and Nadal.