Second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Russia's Mikhail Youzhny reached the final of the Japan Open with contrasting victories in Tokyo.
Russian edges through to Tokyo final as Tsonga cruises
Second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Russia's Mikhail Youzhny reached the final of the Japan Open with contrasting victories in Tokyo on Saturday.
French star Tsonga eased his way past compatriot Gael Monfils 6-3 6-3 but the unranked Youzhny battled hard with Lleyton Hewitt before edging through 6-2 5-7 7-5.
Tsonga broke in the fourth game thanks to an athletic volley as he overpowered his good friend, charging to the net once again to clinch a 5-3 advantage in the second set before closing out the match.
"I played unbelievable," he said. "It was amazing, I was able to do anything I wanted. It was great."
Youzhny, who knocked out defending champion Tomas Berdych in the last eight, overpowered the eighth-seeded Hewitt to take the first set before the Australian hit back it typical style.
Youzhny had to save three break points at 4-4 in the second set with two fabulous running backhands and a crunching volley, but he lost his way and blasted a backhand long to hand Hewitt the crucial break in the 11th game.
The decider went with serve until the Russian earned a break point in the 12th game, and the marathon match ended abruptly when Hewitt dumped a backhand into the net.
"Here I played four matches at the same level, I can say, at a high level," said Youzhny, who also eliminated third-seeded Gilles Simon in the second round.
"When you are in the final, you always want to win, you don't think about it's the first final of the year or the second.
"For me, it's more important to play a good game, not only one match, not only one set, but the whole matches. I just want to continue and play the same tennis in the final."
