Tursunov powers past Stepanek, will face Mathieu in final
METZ, France -- Dmitry Tursunov advanced to the Open de Moselle final on Saturday, using his powerful serve to beat Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-4.
The fifth-seeded Russian will face fourth-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu, who beat Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (8), 7-6 (1) in an all-French semifinal.
"I think I'm serving well and I'm trying not to make silly errors," Tursunov said. "It's quite an improvement on the past."
He had four aces in the first set and won 89 percent of his first-serve points.
Stepanek, seeded seventh, had four break points in the second set but failed to convert.
Tursunov will be playing in his third final this season; Mathieu will be in his first. Tursunov beat Mathieu in three sets in their only previous meeting.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
