Russian fourth seed Mikhail Youzhny overcame a mild challenge from Marin Cilic to enter his eighth career final on Saturday.
Youzhny used his backhand to telling effect to beat Cilic 6-2, 6-3 in the semi-final of the Chennai Open in an hour and 23 minutes. He will meet the winner of the Spanish duel between top seed Rafael Nadal and former champion Carlos Moya.
"We both finished out matches late yesterday; I played two sets and he played three sets so maybe he was more tired," said Youzhny. "He wasn't playing at his best, his percentage was not too high."
Cilic, one of the fastest movers on the ATP charts in 2007, failed to get his booming serve working against his experienced opponent.
Serving at a low 46 per cent, the Croatian found the going tough against Youzhny's all court game and the precise backhand passes every time Cilic tried to attack the net.
Youzhny got the breaks in the first and ninth games to win the first set comfortably.
In the second, he stretched Cilic to deuce in the third and fifth game before eventually going into the lead with a break in the seventh.
The 10-minute fifth game, when Cilic had to save two break points, seemed to have broken the spirit of the young Croat as he lost four straight games after that.