Basilashvili beats Lajovic to reach 1st final in Kitzbuehel

KITZBUEHEL, Austria - Nikoloz Basilashvili became the first tennis player from Georgia to reach an ATP final on Friday after beating Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-3, 6-1 at the Generali Open.

Basilashvili will take on either fourth-seeded Paolo Lorenzi of Italy or Gerald Melzer of Austria in Saturday's final of the clay-court event in the Austrian Alps.

Playing in his maiden career semifinal, the 123rd-ranked Basilashvili took control of the match after he broke Lajovic while leading 4-3 in the opening set. Dominating with strong groundstrokes, Basilashvili broke his opponent's serve three more times and won nine of the last 10 games to close out the win.

The 83rd-ranked Lajovic, who was seeded sixth, went 0-2 in semifinals this season.