Amritraj to clash with Santaro in Hall of Fame final

Newport, RI, Jul 13 (UNI) Prakash Amritraj became the first Indian in a decade after Leander Paes to enter the final of the 385,000 dollars Hall of Fame Tennis Championships after he towered over seventh seed Frank Dancevic of Canada to book a summit clash with defending champion Fabrice Santoro here today.

Wild card entrant, Prakash clinched a see-saw battle 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3 over his Canadian opponent in a gruelling encounter that lasted for two hours and 18 minutes.

The 24-year-old Indian Davis Cupper has now joined Australia's Mark Philippoussis, who went on to clinch the title in 2006, as the only other wild card to make the Newport finals.

Prakash will now take on the second seed Santoro, who earned his 450th career victory, defeating Vincent Spadea 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 and is trying to become only the third repeat winner in the tournament's history, joining Bryan Shelton and Greg Rusedski.

If Prakash goes on to beat Santaro, he would also join an elite club becoming only the second father-son duo to have won an ATP title. Prakash's father Vijay Amritraj was here to witness his son's memorable victory as he reached his maiden ATP final.

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