LOS ANGELES: Australian qualifier Carsten Ball stretched his dream run at the Los Angeles Open all the way to the final on Saturday with a 7-5, 7-6 (7/3) win over Argentina's Leonardo Mayer.

The world number 205, who lives in nearby Newport Beach and had never played an ATP-level match prior to this week, will face either two-time champion Tommy Haas or America's Sam Querrey for the title.

Ball, son of 1974 Australian Open doubles finalist Syd Ball, fired 10 aces in the 91-minute battle with Mayer, a 22-year-old also playing in the first semi-final of his career.

The South American made his own mark at the French Open this season when he knocked out James Blake in the first round.
Ball, who won a Davis Cup rubber for Australia last September before ever setting foot on an ATP court, secured the first set against Mayer with a break in the final game and recovered in the second after going a break down.

The Australian took command in the second-set tiebreaker, securing his victory on the first of three match points.

Ball is the first qualifier to reach the Los Angeles final in post-1968 Open era history and has never faced either Haas or Querrey. LINK