David Goffin beats Schwartzman to enter 2nd straight Japan Open tennis final

David Goffin will face Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in Sunday’s Japan Open tennis tournament final. Mannarino beat Croatia’s Marin Cilic in his semifinal match

Belgian David Goffin reached a second straight Japan Open tennis final with a tense 7-6(3), 7-6(6) victory over Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman on Saturday.

David Goffin celebrates after defeating Diego Schwartzman of Argentina during their men's singles semifinal match of the Japan Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on Saturday. (AFP)

Goffin will face Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in Sunday’s decider. Mannarino beat Cilic 6-7, 6-4, 6-0 in the second semifinal.

A Schwartzman double fault at 6-6 in the second tiebreak gifted Goffin a chance to serve for the match, which he converted.

With no breaks in the first set, Goffin took the initiative in the fifth game of the second. He served for the match at 5-4 only for Schwartzman to break back.

Goffin also held the upper hand in the tiebreak at 3-2, before Schwartzman broke back two points later.

The victory extends Goffin’s winning streak to eight matches, including four in winning his first title since 2014 in Shenzhen last week.

He stands at No.10 in the Emirates ATP Race to London rankings. With the injured Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka ruled out, 10th place is good enough to secure a spot at the end-of-season showpiece.