Ancic v Tojo in ATP St. Pete Final

The third-seeded Croatian will meet former Australian Open titlist Thomas Johansson in the Sunday final. Johansson earned his first final of the season, posting a 6-3, 7-6(3) triumph over Russian wildcard Igor Kunitsyn.

The win for Ancic kept his slim hopes for a Shanghai berth alive, as the 22-year-old has won 12 of 16 matches since coming back last month from back and knee injuries that sidelined him for most of the summer.

Ancic won one of his four prior finals this year -- at 's-Hertogenbosch in June (d. Hernych), defending his 2005 title there. He was also runner-up at Auckland in January (l. to Nieminen), Marseille in February (l. to Clement) and Beijing last month (l. to Baghdatis). Overall Ancic is 2-6 in finals winning both titles in 's-Hertogenbosch.

Johansson advanced to his second straight St. Pete after winning the title last year over Nicolas Kiefer. He also won St. Pete in 1997 over Renzo Furlan, and he is 18-3 at the event.

Johansson has a career record of 9-3 in finals. A title here would give him at least one in seven of the last eight years. He last went without a first-place finish in 2003.

Ancic beat Johansson in their only prior meeting in the semifinals in Milan in 2004.