(Reuters) – Chilean Christian Garin powered past eighth-seeded Sam Querrey to make his second ATP Tour final at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston on Saturday.
Garin, who beat Querrey 7-6(2) 6-2, will play the winner of Saturday’s rain-delayed semi-final between Norwegian Casper Ruud and Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan in Sunday’s final.
Querrey was the last remaining seed but the American could not hold off Garin in the first set and was overwhelmed in the second.
The 22-year-old Chilean was two points from losing the opening set at 5-6, but held serve and cruised through the tiebreak.
Garin remained dominant on serve in the second set, winning 16 of 19 service points as Querrey’s forehand failed him.
The Chilean made his first ATP Tour final last month at the Brasil Open and is projected to move inside the top 50 if he wins on Sunday.
Wildcard Galan was scheduled to play in his second match of the day, having earlier outlasted Australian seventh seed Jordan Thompson 6-1 4-6 6-4 in the conclusion of their quarter-final which was halted by rain on Friday.
Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina, editing by Pritha Sarkar