India Davis Cupper Harsh Mankad entered the final in the first leg of the $ 50,000 British Satellite indoor tennis tournament in Sunderland on Friday.
He upset second seed Mark Hilton of Great Britain 6-4, 6-3 in the semi-final.
Hilton, who had beaten Albert Costa in the first round of Wimbledon in 2004, hardly posed a challenge for the highest ranked Indian on the tour.
Also Read
The Harsh Mankad interview
The victory saw Mankad pick 15 circuit points.
The 25-year-old's performance has been commendable. He won all the completed matches in straight sets.
He beat qualifier Naim Lalji of Great Britain 6-3, 6-2 in the first round and hardly had to break any sweat as his second round opponent Ian Flanagan (GBR,541) retired after trailing 0-3 in the first set.
In the quarter-finals, Mankad easily overcame 528-ranked Raven Klaasen of South Africa 6-1, 6-4.
Seeded third in the tournament, Mankad is now the favourite to win the title after first seed Jonathan Murray was beaten in the first round itself.
He will take on Richard Bloomfield, also of Great Britain, in the Saturday's final.
