Winston-Salem, NC (Sports Network) - Former top-10 star Gael Monfils secured a berth in Saturday's championship match at the Winston-Salem Open, a final hardcourt U.S. Open tune-up.
The 15th-seeded French Monfils upended 10th-seeded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov, (10), 7-6 (11-9), 6-3, in 1 hour, 37 minutes in a Friday semifinal on the grounds at Wake Forest University. Monfils tallied twice as many service breaks (4-2) as Dolgopolov on Day 6.
The 43rd-ranked Monfils' opponent on Saturday will be sixth-seeded American Sam Querrey or ninth-seeded Austrian left-hander Jurgen Melzer.
The oft-injured 27-year-old Monfils is 4-14 in his career finals, including a loss in Nice in his native France back in May. His last title came in Stockholm two years ago.
This week's champion will collect $76,900.
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