Croatian top seed Ivan Ljubicic beat Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 on Saturday to set up a final with second seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the Zagreb Open.

Extending his rough ride throughout the event, Ljubicic came back from a set down and 2-4 in the third for a victory that kept him on course to defend last year's title.

Youzhny took the first set in less than 30 minutes, prompting Ljubicic, known for his usually cool composure on and off the circuit, to smash his racket.

"I rarely do that. And it did not even help. I had to go inside and splash myself with cold water to regain composure," Ljubicic said of his outburst.

The shaven-headed player easily won the second set but then allowed Youzhny to break him for 4-2. Ljubicic trailed 4-5 and 0-30 on his serve but pulled back to tie the score.

Youzhny then netted two forehands and sent a ball wide to give Ljubicic a decisive advantage ahead of the last game, which the Croatian easily won.

Baghdatis cruised through to the final by beating Austrian qualifier Aleksander Peya 6-4, 6-3.

Peya started strongly, holding his serve until the last game of the first set when Baghdatis took a 5-4 lead and then broke him.

The Cypriot raised his game in the second set, playing some superb tennis and soon putting the match beyond Peya's reach by breaking his two serves.

"I am satisfied because I played some really good tennis this week," said Baghdatis. "Today I was really focused on every point and I want to finish the work tomorrow."