By ,
Published January 13, 2015
Stockholm, Sweden (SportsNetwork.com) - David Ferrer and Grigor Dimitrov each rallied for semifinal victories Saturday and will square off for the title at the Stockholm Open.
The top-seeded Ferrer had a tough time disposing of Latvia's Ernests Gulbis in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 triumph, while the seventh-seeded Dimitrov also came from behind for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Frenchman Benoit Paire.
Ferrer had a walkover into the semifinals after fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco was unable to play Friday because of an abdominal strain. Despite the rest, he came out sluggish and dropped the opening set.
Gulbis, who went the distance Friday in a quarterfinal win over third-seeded Jerzy Janowicz, rallied from a 1-4 deficit in the second set to tie it. Ferrer then won the final two games of the set and the first five of the third to assume control.
Ferrer, the first Spaniard to reach the Stockholm final since Manuel Orantes in 1976, will try for his third title of 2013 and the 21st of his career. He is 20-19 all-time in finals, including 2-4 this year.
After winning in Auckland in January and Buenos Aires in February, Ferrer reached four more finals during the spring and lost each one. He lost to Rafael Nadal in Acapulco and fell to Andy Murray in Miami, then lost to Stan Wawrinka in Portugal and dropped the French Open final to Nadal.
The summer season was not as kind to Ferrer, who reached quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open before round of eight losses in Kuala Lumpur and Beijing. He then suffered a third-round setback in Shanghai last week.
Next up will be Dimitrov, who will play in a title match for just the second time in his young career. The first came back in January -- a straight-set loss to Murray in Brisbane.
Dimitrov, a 22-year-old Bulgarian, is 0-3 lifetime against Ferrer. The two last met in Sweden last year, a 6-3, 7-5 Ferrer win in the Bastad semifinals.
This week's titlist will earn $130,000.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/ferrer-dimitrov-each-rally-to-reach-stockholm-final