Kitzbuhel, Austria – Second seed and former champion Juan Monaco and eighth-seeded Marcel Granollers will square off in Saturday's championship match at the bet-at-home Cup Kitzbuhel tennis event.
The gritty Argentine Monaco bested seventh-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes 7-6 (7-2), 7-5, while Spain's Granollers handed two-time defending champion Robin Haase his first loss at this event, 7-6 (7-0), 3-6, 6-4, in 2 hours, 24 minutes in Friday's semifinal action on the red clay at Kitzbuhel Tennis Stadium. Granollers lost to Haase in a quarterfinal in Gstaad last week.
Montanes was the Kitzbuhel runner-up two years ago.
Haase had been 12-0 here, including back-to-back titles, the second of which came when he beat German Philipp Kohlschreiber in last year's finale. The Dutchman was the runner-up in Gstaad last week.
The 53rd-ranked Granollers is 2-1 lifetime against the world No. 31 Monaco, but the Argentine won their lone meeting on clay back in 2008.
The 29-year-old Monaco will appear in his 18th career ATP final, seeking a ninth title. He was a champion in Duesseldorf back in May and titled in Kitzbuhel in 2007.
The 27-year-old Granollers is 3-2 in his career finals, with his last title coming in 2011.
Saturday's winner will collect $98,000.