Stanislas Wawrinka has advanced to the final of the Japan Open courtesy of a straight-sets victory over Gilles Muller.
The Swiss put the pressure on the 32-year-old in the first set and he got the break in the seventh game, which allowed Wawrinka to take the set 6-4.
Muller then committed an early error in the second set set when he handed the 30-year-old a break following a double fault. However, he rallied back to earn a break of his own to level the set at 2-2.
Wawrinka earned his third break point of the match when he fired a cross-court winner on his forehand, but Muller kept his hopes alive by hitting back to level once more.
However, in the tie-breaker the two-time Grand Slam champion raised the level of his game to secure the match with a 6-4 7-5 win.
Wawrinka will play Benoit Paire in the final of the competition.
Simon Sinclair
