Unseeded Lopez beats Davydenko to reach Dubai final

By Barry Wood

DUBAI (Reuters) - Unseeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez reached the final of the Dubai Championships on Friday, recovering from 2-5 in the final set to defeat fifth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko 6-4 4-6 7-5.

Lopez, who lost the 2004 final to Roger Federer, will next face third seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia or sixth-seeded American Andy Roddick, who play later on Friday.

Lopez made the worst possible start, salvaging just one point from the first three games, and although he broke back in the fifth game Davydenko broke again to lead 4-2.

Lopez then made the first of his two recoveries, winning the next four games to take the set, closing it out with his fourth ace.

There was just one break in the second set, when Lopez netted a forehand on break point at 5-4, and the Russian soon gained the upper hand in the third set.

With Lopez struggling to find consistency in all areas of his game, Davydenko broke to lead 3-1 and at 5-2 appeared to be ready to contest his first final since he won Moscow last October.

But Lopez raised his game, used the aggression that he had produced only in patches throughout the match, and swept the final five games.

Davydenko made a spectacular running forehand on the run to save the first match point, but another attempt to play an identical shot on the second match point failed to find the mark.