Yuichi Sugita overcame Marcos Baghdatis to reach his first career ATP World Tour final on Friday at the Antalya Open in Turkey.
Sugita, the world No. 66, won the first set 6-3, dropped the second 6-7 (7-9) and was leading 4-1 in the decider when his Cypriot opponent was forced to retire due to dehydration, handing the Japanese right-hander his first shot at an ATP title.
The 28-year-old took advantage of Baghdatis' serving struggles, with the former world No. 8 throwing in eight double faults while landing just 51 percent of his first serves.
Sugita managed to break serve twice before Baghdatis retired at the 2-hour, 18-minute mark, while saving four break points on his own serve.
He will face the winner of Friday's other semifinal between France's Adrian Mannarino and Italy's Andreas Seppi.
