The ATP Zagreb Indoors final takes place on Sunday between Russia's Mikhail Youzhny and Lukas Lacko.
Youzhny is looking to win his first title since Kuala Lumpur back in October 2010. "When you're on the tour, you're not thinking about when you last played in a final or when you last won a tournament," he said . "I've tried to improve and move forward. Last year did not go well for me, so we'll see what happens this year."
Youzhny's done well to come through a very tricky draw, defeating former champion Sergiy Stakhovsky in straight sets in the opening round and then negotiating the challenge of Ivo Karlovic 7-6(10), 3-6, 7-6(6) in a dramatic semi-final. He then proved too strong for last year's runner-up Michael Berrer, defeating the German 6-3, 6-4 to reach his 18th ATP final.
In contrast this is Lacko's first final on the main tour. The Slovak is unpredictable at the best of times but he's loving life in Zagreb this week, taking out second seed Alex Bogomolov Jnr, Robin Haase and former champion Marcos Baghdatis.
Lacko is not usually renowned for his mental strength but he showed that quality in abundance against Baghdatis, hitting back from 4-1 down in the second set to win 7-5, 7-6(3).
Lacko has lost all three of his past matches with Youzhny but he insists he'll have a better shot this time. "It was my first season on the ATP World Tour, so I wasn't as experienced. But every time I played a good, close match," he said. "He's a smart player but it's good that I've played against him as I know what to expect. I need to try and change what happened in those those three matches and play the match my way."
