Sam Barry has survived a harrowing road to the final of the $25,000 Broadway Tennis Center Men's Futures.
Not only has the second-seeded Irishman needed three sets in all four of his matches, the first three encounters went to 6-4 or 7-5 in the third set, and he came within a tiebreaker of losing in straight sets in the semifinals.
Barry, ranked No. 291, subdued unseeded American Mico Santiago 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 on Saturday in Burlingame, near San Francisco International Airport.
Barry, 24, is scheduled to face top-seeded Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium for the first time today at noon.
Bemelmans, ranked No. 216 after reaching a career-high No. 84 last year in September, outclassed fourth-seeded Raymond Sarmiento, a former USC All-American from Los Angeles, 6-2, 6-3.
Bemelmans has had only one tough match in the tournament, a quarterfinal with virtually the same score as Barry's semifinal. Bemelmans, 28, beat sixth-seeded Sebastian Fanselow of Germany 2-6, 7-6 (0), 6-1.
Bemelmans qualified for Wimbledon for the third time this year and lost 8-6 in the fifth set to fellow left-hander Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil in the first round. Bemelmans reached the second round at Wimbledon in 2012. He lost to Andy Murray of Great Britain in host Belgium's 3-1 loss in the Davis Cup final last November.
Here are the Burlingame singles and doubles draws.
Paul love your blog. The new Burlingame facility is indoors. Rain will not be a factor
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