Qualifier reaches final

Published October 28, 2001

STOCKHOLM, Oct 27: Jarkko Nieminen became the first player from Finland to reach an ATP final in 20 years on Saturday when he beat Swedish fifth seed Thomas Enqvist in the Stockholm Open.

Unseeded Nieminen won 7-6 6-3 for his seventh straight win in the tournament, including the qualifying rounds, and he has yet to lose a set.

It is the first time in the Stockholm Open that a qualifier has reached a final without dropping a set.

The Finn’s opponent in the final will be Dutch sixth seed Sjeng Schalken, who beat Argentine fourth seed Guillermo Canas 6-4 6-2.

Schalken has progressed to the final while dropping just one set.

Swiss indoor semifinals (prefix number denotes seeding):

4-Roger Federer (Switzerland) bt Julien Boutter (France) 7-6 (7-3) 6-4; 2-Tim Henman (Britain) bt 7-Carlos Moya (Spain) 6-1 6-4.

Luxembourg Open semifinals:

1-Kim Clijsters (Belgium) beat 3-Amanda Coetzer (South Africa) 6-3 6-4; 6-Lisa Raymond (U.S.) beat Tina Pisnik (Slovenia) 6-2 6-0.—Reuters