Monaco into Dusseldorf final

Monaco is seeded third and the highest-ranked player left in the field. But he needed nearly two hours to overcome his left-handed, 101th-ranked opponent, who was playing in his first semifinal match on the tour after going through qualifying.

Pella saved two match points — and wasted one set point — before whipping a backhand into the net to end the grueling battle from the baseline. Monaco finished with eight aces, while Pella had only one.

The 19th-ranked Monaco next plays either sixth-seed Jarkko Nieminen of Finland or Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands.