Moscow, Russia – Serbian countrymen Janko Tipsarevic and set fashion on Saturday.
The second-seeded Troicki was the first to advance, as the reigning Moscow champ earned a 6-4, 6-4 win over Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. Tipsarevic, the top seed and 2009 Moscow runner-up, disappointed the home crowd with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over three-time champ Nikolay Davydenko of Russia.
Troicki and Chardy battled through eight games of the first set without a break of serve, but the Frenchman finally succumbed in the ninth game and the Serb held to close it out. The exact scenario repeated itself in the second set.
"I had to play my best tennis to beat Chardy today," said Troicki. "I knew I had to concentrate on my return games and I was happy I was able to do that. It was tough to break him."
Troicki is just 1-3 all-time in finals, including a loss to Frenchman Gilles Simon in his lone title match appearance this year at the Australian Open tuneup in Sydney. He beat Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis for the Moscow crown last year.
"It is really special to play here," Troicki noted. "My father's family is Russian and Moscow is my favorite tournament. Belgrade is great for me, too, but I have had better results here!"
Another Belgrade native will be his opponent on Sunday, as Tipsarevic dominated Davydenko in the first set and rallied to win the second. He was down 4-5, 0-40 in the second set and facing the task of playing a third set, but made a stunning turnaround.
After storming back to win the 10th game, he broke Davydenko in the next game and held serve to reach his fourth final of 2011.
Tipsarevic won the Malaysian Open three weeks ago for his first career ATP singles title and earlier this year lost to Andreas Seppi in the Eastbourne final and fell to Juan Martin del Potro in Delray Beach back in February.
The 14th-ranked player in the world also had his best showing in a Grand Slam event last month at the U.S. Open with a fourth-round loss to eventual champ Novak Djokovic.
Troicki, ranked 16th, won the only previous ATP meeting with his fellow Serb, a 6-3, 6-4 triumph three years ago in the second round of this tournament.
The 2011 Kremlin Cup champ will claim $132,160.
