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ROTTERDAM - Juan Martin del Potro dispatched Bulgarian youngster Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to move into his second straight Rotterdam World Tennis event final.
The Argentine winner, seeded second and now the top-ranked player left after Friday’s shock elimination of Roger Federer by Julien Benneteau, will play either the Swiss star’s conqueror or fifth seed Gilles Simon.
Del Potro, who lost the final to Federer here a year ago, lifted a pair of indoor titles last autumn in Vienna and Basel.
“Anything can happen in the finals, I have to play at my best and not give my opponent any chance to break,” the Del Potro. “I’m a little surprised not to see Federer in the final, But Benneteau plays well on hardcourt and Roger can have a bad day like anyone.
“Benneteau deserved to win the match. Playing someone like Roger is always a pleasure but I’m focused on the match in front of me.
“This is my second final here, so I’ll try to win it for the first time.”
The Argentine fired six aces in his 75-minute win, breaking once per set in his tidy victory in a first meeting with the 21-year-old Dimitrov.
“I’m glad I was able to beat him, he’s a newcomer with a lot of potential,” said the winner, bidding for his 14th career title as he plays Rotterdam for the second time.
“I used my serve well today.”
Del Potro will be playing in his 19th final at the ATP level.
He reached the final hurdle after holding serve in 40 games without a loss.
“I improved my game since the quarter-finals, but if I want to win the title I have to get that little bit better. I need to play at 100 per cent.”
Dimitrov had been looking for his second career ATP final after losing in Brisbane last month to Andy Murray.
The Argentine improved to 6-1 this season while Dimitrov dropped to 9-5.
