Garcia-Lopez ousts Monfils to book Vesely final in Bucharest

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Gael Monfils fell in the semi-finals for a second successive week as Guillermo Garcia-Lopez came from a set down to set up a final showdown with Jiri Vesely in Nastase Tiriac Trophy.

Monfils was beaten in the last four in Monte Carlo last week and he suffered the same fate in Bucharest as fifth seed Garcia-Lopez kept his quest for a second title this year on track.

The Spaniard's 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 6-2 win came after two hours and 10 minutes on court and capped an impressive comeback, having seen the opening set slip out of his grasp.

A tiebreak gave Monfils the early lead, but Garcia-Lopez pressured the Frenchman's serve in the next two sets and broke three times to secure his progression.

Garcia-Lopez reached the final in Romania two years ago before losing to Lukas Rosol, but he will hope for a better result when he meets seventh seed Vesely – the Czech also coming from a set down to beat Daniel Gimeno-Traver.

In a repeat of the Grand Prix Hassan II semi-final earlier this month, this time it was Vesely who prevailed as he recorded a 2-6 6-1 6-4 triumph.

Vesely only held his serve once in the opener, but bounced back with the opening three games of the second on his way to Sunday's showpiece.

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