Mathieu reaches Open de Moselle final

Oct 4, 2008 - 5:36 PM METZ, France (Ticker) -- Paul-Henri Mathieu ended the surprising run of countryman Adrian Mannarino at the Open de Moselle.

The fourth-seeded Mathieu advanced to the championship of the hardcourt event on Saturday with a 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-1) semifinal victory over his fellow Frenchman. Mathieu will face fifth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov in Sunday's final.

Playing on home soil, the 20-year-old Mannarino had been enjoying the best tournament of his life prior to the setback.

In fact, the 181st-ranked qualifier had not won an ATP-level match before an upset win over No. 6 seed Andreas Seppi in the opening round here.

Mannarino continued his strong play on Saturday, but it was the more experienced Mathieu who prevailed and moved within a win of his fifth career title.

Tursunov, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, also will be gunning for his fifth championship on Sunday.

The 32nd-ranked Russian, who won his most recent title earlier this year in Sydney, beat Mathieu in their only previous meeting.

First prize is $85,500.