Nalbandian and Baghdatis to meet in Washington decider

David Nalbandian and Marcos Baghdatis are through to the Legg Mason Tennis Classic final in Washington after winning their respective semi-finals last night.

Eighth seed Baghdatis of Cyprus defeated Belgium's Xavier Malisse 6-2 7-6 (7/4) in one hour 47 minutes.

Argentina's Nalbandian, who was playing as a wildcard, claimed a 6-2 6-2 victory over Marin Cilic in one hour 13 minutes.

Baghdatis and Nalbandian have met on four previous occasions, with the Cypriot holding a 3-1 record.

The duo's most recent meeting came on the grass of Wimbledon in 2007 and it was Baghdatis' third straight defeat of Nalbandian.

Nalbandian, who is currently ranked outside the world's top 100 but has a career high of three, won the first meeting between the two, triumphing at the French Open in 2005.

The one previous hard court meeting was won by Baghdatis in four sets at the Australia Open.

Nalbandian is seeking an 11th career title and Baghdatis a fifth.