Intro:

Roberto Bautista Agut beats defending champion Fabio Fognini in the ATP Mercedes Cup semi-finals on Saturday (12th July).

Lukas Rosol reaches final of the ATP Mercedes Cup with victory over second seed Mikhail Youzhny on Saturday (12th July).

Script:

Roberto Bautista Agut defeated defending champion and top seed Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-4 to reach the final of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart on Saturday.

The third-seeded Spaniard won almost three quarters of his service points and saved five break points in his victory over the Italy's Fognini in one hour and 14 minutes.

Bautista Agut was leading 4-1 in the first set when play was suspended for 40 minutes due to rain.

Fognini had been bidding to reach his fourth final of the season.

But it was Bautista Agut who came out on top in the match and can look forward to a final against Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic.

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This, after he beat second seed Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the other semi-final.

Rosol, who upset the fourth-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain in the quarter-finals, struck 10 aces to Youzhny's five, and converted four of his nine break points to win against the 2002 champion in just under 90 minutes.

Both the 48th-ranked Czech and Bautista Agut will be aiming for their second title.

Rosol won in Bucharest last year while the 23rd-ranked Spaniard's maiden victory came at `s-Hertogenbosch last month.