ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Having dispensed with an unfamiliar opponent in the semifinals on Saturday, Tim Henman of Britain still must overcome a well-known nemesis Nicolas Escude at the ABN/AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
Henman, the sixth seed, recorded a service break in each set as he posted a 7-5, 6-4 semifinal victory over Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia in their first career meeting.
In Sunday's final, Henman will go up against defending champion Escude, who saved three match points to triumph over fellow Frenchman and fourth seed Sebastien Grosjean, 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5.
Henman has won just one of his five career matches with Escude. In their previous encounter, Henman lost to Escude in the round of 16 here a year ago.
The British No. 1, who is gunning for a second ATP title in as many months, won his ninth career ATP title last month at Adelaide.
However, Henman has been unsuccessful in his two previous appearances in the Rotterdam final. He lost to Frenchman Cedric Pioline in 2000 after coming up short against Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov a year earlier.
Escude trailed 4-5, 0-40 in the third set on Saturday. But Grosjean sent a passing shot wide and gave his Davis Cup teammate an opening. Escude won three straight games to close the match. But the 25-year-old acknowledged the semifinal against Grosjean took a lot out of him.
In the 2001 final, qualifier Escude outdueled Roger Federer of Switzerland to capture his lone title of the year. Escude currently is one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour, having reached his second final in consecutive weeks. He lost to Sweden's Thomas Enqvist in last Sunday's Marseille Open final.
