Nieminen, Benneteau to clash in Sydney final

Sydney: Veteran Jarkko Nieminen extended his busy week at the Sydney International on Friday, beating Denis Istomin 7-6 (12), 6-3 to advance to Saturday's final.

Nieminen, the 2009 Sydney runner-up, has played seven singles matches this week after being forced to qualify for the main draw, and is also in the doubles semi-finals with Australian partner Matthew Ebden.

He will next play Julien Benneteau of France, who needed six match points to finally beat 2010 Sydney champion and former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis.

Benneteau, serving for the match, needed more than 13 minutes to finish off the final game.

Defending champion Li Na will play Victoria Azarenka in the women's final on Friday night.