Cilic advances to Chennai Open final

The Croat, the tournament's second seed, gave up just eight points and converted 2-of-6 break-point opportunities in the 84-minute match. That earned him a chance to successfully defend his 2009 title Sunday against third-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland.

Cilic is 3-2 in career finals.

Wawrinka won a much more difficult match, beating Israel's Dudi Sela 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.
"Obviously you can tell by the score that it was a really tough match," Wawrinka said. "I expected it to be difficult."

Sunday's Cilic-Wawrinka winner takes home a $68,450 champion's check.

Wawrinka is 4-0 lifetime against Cilic.

Copyright 2010 by United Press International.