Ferrer ousts Dodig to reach Valencia Open final

Valencia: Top-seeded David Ferrer reached the Valencia Open final for a third time, beating Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 on Saturday.

Ferrer, the local favourite, awaits the other semi-final winner between Jurgen Melzer and Alexandr Dolgopolov. After the fifth-ranked Ferrer controlled the opening set, Dodig saved two break points to force a second-set tiebreaker, where he converted a third set point by forcing the Spaniard into netting his volley.

Ferrer grabbed a 3-1 advantage in the decisive set after Dodig had a costly double fault to cede his serve. The Spaniard then hit a running approach shot to break Dodig again before serving out the win.

David Ferrer reached the Valencia Open final for a third time, beating Ivan Dodig.

Ferrer has a chance on Sunday to add the tournament at the City of Arts and Sciences to his five titles this season. He won here on the indoor hard-courts in 2008 and 2010 after losing the final in 2005 when the tournament was played on clay.

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