UMAG, Croatia, July 20 (UPI) -- Defending champion Carlos Moya of Spain won his ninth consecutive match Saturday, defeating Jurgen Melzer of Austria, 7-6 (7-1), 6-1, to reach the finals of the Croatia Open.
The 25-year-old Moya, who is seeking his third title here, improved to 28-6 on clay this season and has dropped only one set this week. He captured his first Croatia Open crown in 1996.
Moya, the second seed, has climbed to 12th in the ATP Champions Race. He is gunning for his third crown of 2002 and second in as many tournaments, also winning last week in Bastad.
Melzer, who never had faced Moya, was playing in his first ATP Tour semifinal.
Moya's win set up an all-Spanish final as he will face 20-year-old qualifier David Ferrer, who ended the run of 23-year-old Croatian wild card Zeljko Krajan, 6-2, 6-1, in Saturday's other semifinal.
Moya will be a heavy favorite against Ferrer, who is competing in just his second ATP event. However, Ferrer has had success this year on the Challenger circuit, winning titles in Napoli, Valencia and Sassuolo.
Ferrer also upset top seed and Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian in the first round of this event.
