Robin Haase looks to win his first ATP title in Kitzbuhel today against Albert Montanes.
Haase is enjoying the best week of his career, taking out some quality opposition to reach his first ever ATP final. The Dutchman defeated Feliciano Lopez and Andreas Seppi earlier in the week and held firm to see off Brazilian qualifier Joao Souza 6-1, 6-7, 6-4 in just over two hours.
"I have played well this year, but suffered a few tough losses," a delighted Haase said afterwards. "I knew that I needed to give myself some time and I'm happy that it worked well so far this week. Now I'm here in the final and that feels great. I like it here. My serve is a bit more efficient in the altitude. The crowd was great today. Many Dutch people came to support me."
Montanes enjoyed his breakthrough season last year but apart from a strong showing at the French Open, this year has been full of lousy defeats for the Spaniard. Unseeded this week, he has improved with every round and reached an impressive milestone yesterday, defeating top seed Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2, 7-5 for the 200th win of his career.
This is the tenth final of Montanes' career and it took him a long while to get that first title. Initially overwhelmed by the experience, he lost his first four finals but he rebounded strongly and has since won the last five, including two titles in 2010.
However Haase is undaunted. "Of course I hope to take my good form to the final and play well again," he said. "I hope that I can keep up my good record from Challenger finals."
