Sydney is a lucky venue for the Masku-born Nieminen, who also reached the singles final in 2009. This year, his final against the Uzbek Denis Istomin turned on a reflex volley to decide the tie-break in the first set. He went on to win the second to complete a 7-6, 6-3 victory.
Nieminen will now play the Frenchman Julien Benneteau in the final on Sunday. The Finn modestly downplays his success in the event, which comes ahead of the Australian Open, which starts on Monday.
“My goal was just to play well—that's basically the goal for everyone—and to get some matches before the Open,” said Nieminen after his win. “But then I started to feel better and better and I qualified, and then I played better and better all the time. Obviously I'm very happy that I got this many wins.”
Nieminen also made the doubles final with his partner Mathew Ebden. They beat the all-Aussie pairing of Colin Ebelthite and Marinko Matosevic 6-3, 7-6 (4). They now play the Australian Bryan twins in the final on Sunday.
