Basilashvili beats Lajovic to reach 1st final in Kitzbuehel
KITZBUEHEL, Austria (AP) Nikoloz Basilashvili became the first tennis player from Georgia to reach an ATP final on Friday after beating Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-3, 6-1 at the Generali Open.
Basilashvili will take on either fourth-seeded Paolo Lorenzi of Italy or Gerald Melzer of Austria in Saturday's final of the clay-court event in the Austrian Alps.
Playing in his maiden career semifinal, the 123rd-ranked Basilashvili took control of the match after he broke Lajovic while leading 4-3 in the opening set. Dominating with strong groundstrokes, Basilashvili broke his opponent's serve three more times and won nine of the last 10 games to close out the win.
The 83rd-ranked Lajovic, who was seeded sixth, went 0-2 in semifinals this season.