STOCKHOLM (AP)—Top-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic will play defending champion Grigor Dimitrov in the final of the Stockholm Open.
Berdych defeated German qualifier Matthias Bachinger 7-6 (7), 6-4 in Saturday's semifinals, while Dimitrov beat Australia's Bernard Tomic 6-3, 7-5 after the second-seeded Bulgarian fought his way back from 4-1 down in the second set.
''I will always do everything to defend my title,'' said Dimitrov, who was cheered by fans after two trick shots against Tomic.
The 10th-ranked Dimitrov has won three of four matches with Berdych, including a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 victory in their most recent meeting in Rome last spring. All four of their prior matches have gone three sets.
"I like my chances," Dimitrov told ATPWorld Tour.com on his hope of winning a fifth title. "I never dislike my chances if I'm in the final. It's a nice place to be again. I would love to defend a title every single week. It brings the best out in you so for me it's a really nice place to be in."
It was the 50th win of the season for Berdych, who advanced to his fifth final of the year.
"[Dimitrov is] hungry to win, make some points and still be in the close chase of the World Tour Finals,” Berdych told ATPWorld Tour.com. "But I'm in the same position as him. I'm going to try and do the same thing and really just try to play my tennis and fight for another title."