Final will be the the first between two latin Americans in a Super 9 tournament, one rank below the four Grand Slams. For the first time in three years, there will not be a Spaniard in the final here and Kuerten is to blame.

The former French Open winner beat 15th seed Felix Mantilla 3-6 6-3 6-4.Rios, world number one last year, was less convincing in his 6-4 3-6 6-2 victory over Frenchman Jerome Golmard, who had beaten title holder Carlos Moya of Spain in the quarter-finals

But Kuerten, who had beaten Spain almost single-handed in Davis Cup tie this month, had the game to counter the Catalan on a rainy day in the principality.

The Brazilian at first had trouble adapting to a court made slower by constant drizzle and he made a lot of unforced errors.

Mantilla broke Kuerten straight awayand the Brazilian lost the set 6-3 in 35 minutes.

In the second, Kuerten rushed the net at every opportunity to great effect. In the final set Mantilla, who had fought out a long three-set battle against Costa in the previous round, seemed to tire.

Rios, back in form after a back injury forced him out of action for most of the early season, was a little inconsistent in a match which also lasted just over two hours.

Golmard looked in control in the first set, leading 4-2, when he cracked, double faulting twice to allow Rios back and winning just one point out of 14.

When Rios seemed to have been heading for a quick victory that in turn collapsed to trail 4-1. He saved five set points before handing the second set to the Frenchman.

Henman, Delaitre win: Briton Tim Henman, paired with French veteran Olivier Delaitre, proved he could play well on clay by winning the Monte Carlo open doubles title.

Henman, who was seeded third in the singles draw here and lost his opening match to Brazil'sFernando Meligeni, and Delaitre beat Czechs David Rikl and Jiri Novak 6-2 6-3. Henman became the first Briton to win a doubles title in Monte Carlo since Roger Taylor In 1970. Henman and Delaitre had never played together before.

Pitkowski in final
Budapest: Sarah Pitkowski, the only remaining seed, eliminated Hungary's hopes for a champion from its own ranks, beating Rita Kuti-Kis 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2) yesterday to reach the final of the Budapest Ladies Open.

The Frenchwoman will face unseeded Cristina Torrens-Valero in today's title match. Torrens-Valero beat Denisa Chladkova of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-4, in the day's other semifinal.

Pitkowski, ranked 41st by WTA Tour, jumped out to a 4-0 lead in 20 minutes.