Youzhny books final spot

Mikhail Youzhny will face Mikhail Kukushkin in the final of the St Petersburg Open after the top seed fought past Dmitry Tursunov.

Top seed battles into St Petersburg final

Mikhail Youzhny will face Mikhail Kukushkin in the final of the St Petersburg Open after the top seed fought past compatriot Dmitry Tursunov in three sets. The 28-year-old Youzhny, who is ranked 10th in the world, saved four match points before triumphing 7-5 4-6 7-6 (10-8) in Saturday's semi-final. "It's always tough to play Dima (Tursunov)," Youzhny said. "Today I was just a little bit more lucky." In the earlier semi-final, Kukushkin of Kazakhstan overcame Ukraine's Ilya Marchenko 6-3 6-4 in one hour 34 minutes in their first ever head-to-head meeting. "The result of the match wasn't clear until the very last point as Ilya (Marchenko) was battling tough for every single point," Kukushkin said. "I'm satisfied with my playing here and happy to reach the final. I'm in good form and hope to perform at my best tomorrow."