THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEWPORT, R.I. -- Defending champion Fabrice Santoro advanced to the final of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships by beating Vince Spadea 7-6 (4), 6-1 on Saturday. The matchup between the 35-year-old Santoro and 33-year-old Spadea was the oldest combined ages in a semifinal on tour since 1993, when 31-year old Brad Gilbert beat 40-year old Jimmy Connors in San Francisco. Santoro, the second seed and oldest champion on Newport's grass courts in the 32-year history of the tourney, will face Prakash Amritraj on Sunday. Amritraj, a wild card entry, upset seventh-seeded Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3 in the other semifinal. Santoro, looking for his sixth career title, relied on a variety of two-handed cuts, slices and drops to reach his first ATP final since Newport last year. "You just have to prepare hard," Spadea said. "You're playing an unorthodox style. I think I played well early and just didn't continue it." In the second set, Santoro moved Spadea from side to side, dropping both two-handed forehand and backhand shots around the court. But it was a one-handed, reaching backhand that he barely flipped from the grass over the net that closed the match. "I don't make that one very often," Santoro said.
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