Rios grand in Qatar

Rios overcame Voltchkov in straight sets

Marcelo Rios of Chile will meet Czech qualifier Bohdan Ulihrach in the final of the Qatar Open tennis tournament on Sunday.

Rios booked his place by beating Vladimir Voltchkov of Belarus 6-1 6-3 in the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Ulihrach defeated Nicolas Escude of France 3-6 7-5 7-6 to reach his first ATP final since November 1998.

In Saturday's doubles final, second seeds Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Daniel Nestor of Canada beat Juan Balcells of Spain and Andrei Olhovsky of Russia 6-3, 6-1

Rios, whose baseline game denied Voltchkov his first ATP final appearance, kept up with Voltchkov's well-known fast game.

By playing aggressivelly, I was able to win important break points

  Marcelo Rios

"I didn't make many mistakes," said Rios.

"He played a fast game, but I had more pace on my shots

"I played faster because I like to take on the players who want to make me run around the court.

"By playing aggressively, I was able to win important break points in the first set."

The left-handed Rios broke Voltchkov's serve in the first game of the match.

Rios also made the most of Voltchkov's double faults and long returns in the following games to take the first set, which lasted only 22 minutes.

Ulihrach is ranked 82 in the world

"My first game was pretty bad. I just lost my rhythm after that. He never allowed me back in to the game," said Voltchkov.

"One can't allow good players like Rios to take control of the match. At this level, good players make you pay for lapses in concentration."

Ulihrach admitted he tends to be a slow starter.

"I am a little less focused at the beginning of a match," he said.

"It's a mental thing for me and that is why I have played more sets than any other player here.

"I have nothing to lose in the final against Rios. I will play my natural game," said Ulihrach, ranked number 82 in the world.