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BARCELONA, Spain -- Santiago Giraldo of Colombia beat Nicolas Almagro 7-5, 6-3 to reach the Barcelona Open final on Saturday, as his Spanish rival suffered a letdown after ousting top-ranked Rafael Nadal. Giraldo will face fourth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan after he beat Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 6-2, 6-4 in the other semifinal on the red outdoor clay. Almagro slumped to his first loss in six meetings with Giraldo, a day after one of his biggest wins when he upset eight-time winner Nadal at the Real Club de Tenis. "Yesterdays game doesnt serve as an excuse," Almagro said. "Giraldo grazed perfection today, above all in the first set, and I couldnt find the answer." The unseeded Giraldo will be playing for his first career title on Sunday after he saved six of seven break points and finished the match with an emphatic ace. "I have always dreamed of reaching the top spots of the ATP ranking and tomorrow is a first step," Giraldo said. "But I am staying calm. I will keep to my routine and tomorrow will be a day to enjoy and play the best tennis I can." Giraldo prevailed in a match that featured several long rallies by proving more precise with his long groundstrokes. The first set was heading for a tiebreaker until Giraldo snatched it away by breaking Almagros last service game when he swatted a forehand return by the feet of the last years finalist. Almagro got an early break in the second set, but Giraldo won it right back and took control as Almagros nerves frayed with the match slipping away. "He believed more in his tennis, in how he had to play, and he barely made any mistakes," Almagro said. "I committed errors when I could have gone in front. That was the key." Earlier, Nishikoris faster movement overcame Gulbis big serve. Down a set, ninth-seeded Gulbis saved seven break points in the second before finally ceding his serve and losing the match. Nishikori will be seeking his second title of the season and fifth in his career. 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Not quite perfect, but not that far off. Turning in the most dominant start of his career, Collmenter joined Randy Johnson as the only Arizona pitchers to face the minimum in a nine-inning game, tossing a three-hitter in the Diamondbacks 4-0 win over the light-hitting Cincinnati Reds Thursday night. "In the eighth I looked up just to see and at that point youre kind of cognizant of what you have to do," Collmenter said. "You get those guys, then you set yourself up for seven, eight and the pinch hitter." Collmenter got those final three hitters and plenty of help from his teammates. Aaron Hill, who went 1 for 10 in a three-game series against San Diego, had three hits, including a solo homer in the sixth inning off Tony Cingrani (2-5). A.J. Pollock had a double, a triple and scored two runs from the leadoff spot, and Martin Prado added a late run-scoring single. The defence was stellar, making a handful of spectacular players and erasing the runners who did reach base. Collmenter (4-2) was sharp from the first pitch, breezing through his first career complete game by mixing speeds and hitting both sides of the plate. He didnt quite match Johnson, who had a perfect game in 2004 against Atlanta, but faced the same number of hitters. Collmenter also becomes the 13th player since 1914 to allow three or more hits and face the minimum 27 batters in a nine-inning game. "He was just kind of in the zone, throwing his pitches right where he wanted them," said Arizona manager Kirk Gibson, whose team has won five of seven. The Reds have had trouble converting with runners in scoring position this season. They had one against the Diamondbacks, Brayan Pena in the third inning, and he was thrown out at third after tagging up on a flyball to centre. Cincinnati has lost five of six after being shut out for the sixth time this season. "We didnt barrel many balls," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "In part credit to him and in part a testament to the fact that we havent been swinging the bats very well.dddddddddddd" Collmenter has been on a roll over the past month, going 3-0 with a 3.60 ERA in six starts. The over-the-top-throwing right-hander kept it going against the Reds, with help from his defence. The Diamondbacks turned three double plays behind him, including a catch-and-throw by Pollock in centre to get Pena at third in the second inning. Hill also had a diving stop up the middle to rob Todd Frazier of a hit in the seventh inning and made a tough stop on a grounder by Pena in the ninth. Collmenter struck out five and walked none to win his third straight start and fourth straight decision. "He made quality strikes and got bad contact," Diamondbacks catcher Tuffy Gosewisch said. "They hit a few balls hard and we played great defence and turned a double play here and there." The Reds ended a four-game losing streak on Wednesday, when Homer Bailey outpitched two-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw in a 3-2 victory over the Dodgers. Cingrani wasnt quite as good, though managed to limit the damage. The left-hander had struggled a bit since coming off the disabled list (shoulder), allowing four runs in each of his past two starts. Arizona scored a run off Cingrani in the first inning, when Pollock led off with a double, stole third and scored when catcher Devin Mesoracos throw bounced into left field for an error. Hill hit a solo homer to left in the fourth inning, his fifth of the season, and chased Cingrani with a run-scoring single up the middle in the sixth. Cingrani allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings. "I was just trying to get my rhythm going and build off each outing and try to find my groove," Cingrani said. "I will hit it sooner or later." Collmenter certainly has. NOTES: Diamondbacks C Miguel Montero, who leads the majors with 48 games caught, was given the night off. ... The error by Mesoraco in the first inning was the 24th by the Reds, still fewest in the majors. ... Arizona RHP Bronson Arroyo, Fridays starter against the Reds, played the previous eight seasons in Cincinnati. He is 3-1 with a 1.90 ERA his last six starts. RHP Mike Leake will start for Cincinnati after allowing two runs in six innings of a 2-0 loss to St. Louis his last start. ' ' '