Montanes to meet Monfils in Nice Open final

NICE, France, May 24 (UPI) -- Albert Montanes and Gael Monfils earned spots in the finals of the Nice Open tennis tournaments with victories Friday.

Montanes outlasted Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 before Monfils defeated Pablo Andujar 7-5, 6-4.

Montanes fought off 15 of the 16 break points he faced, with the only one he lost costing him the second set. But Montanes controlled the third set, winning about two-third of the points both serving and receiving. Roger-Vasselin had four break chances in the final set but failed to convert any of them.

Monfils had a pair of breaks in each set, including one in the match's final game. He dropped serve once in each set but still won about two-thirds of the points when serving.

Montanes improved to 3-1 lifetime versus Monfils with a three-season win earlier this year in Monte Carlo. Montanes also came out ahead of Monfils at the final of the 2010 tournament in Stuttgart.

Monfils is 4-13 in finals appearances, most recently winning in 2011 at Stockholm but losing two finals last year. Montanes is 5-5 in championship matches but hasn't won a tournament since 2010 and Saturday will mark his first title match since August 2011.