Mikhail Youzhny progressed to the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships, with the No. 7 seed getting the better of Jurgen Melzer 7-5 7-6(4).

Melzer came into the game on the back of an excellent win over Marin Cilic, but he came up against a supremely focused Youzhny who had seen off Andy Murray's conqueror, Janko Tipsarevic, in the quarter-finals.

The opening set was a real slog which went the way of Youzhny, after Melzer had failed to take a set point. Youzhny earned a break of serve with a fine forehand and held his own serve in the following game to take the set.

The second set mirrored the first, with both players strong behind their own serve. Youzhny was put under pressure on a number of occasions but came up with the goods - particularly at 0-30 down in the 12th game. Melzer worked the Russian around the court but he kept himself in the point to force the tie-break.

Youzhny secured the first mini-break of the tie-break when Melzer got in a tangle and played a drop shot into the net and he did exactly the same in the following point. Melzer's head dropped after the second error and Youzhny closed out the match with authority.

Dubai Tennis Open
By Tom Frankl