Viktor Troicki's turnaround from tour outsider to title contender is all but complete, after the Serb won through to the Sydney International decider by demolishing Gilles Muller in their semi-final on Friday.
The former world No.12, who served a controversial 12-month suspension for failing to take a blood test at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2013, was an easy 6-2 6-4 winner.
It is his first ATP final since the incident.
He'll now play unfancied qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin who won through to the final after a 6-4 6-4 win over Leonardo Mayer.
Kukushkin and Troicki are one-apiece in career matches.
Never before have two qualifiers made it through to an ATP final - to be fair more testament to a weak men's field than particularly outstanding play at Sydney Olympic Park.
Troicki, though was clearly delighted with the result.
"Yeah, it's a funny fact," he said when told of the stat. "It's interesting. I hope I go into the record books as the winner. That would be nice."
It's been an extraordinary few years for Troicki, a losing finalist at Sydney back in 2011 and national hero just months before that when his final singles rubber victory handed Serbia its first Davis Cup triumph.
Initially banished for 18 months - a sanction he hotly disputed - he later had the sentence reduced to a year on appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Returning in July last year with a ranking of 847 in the world he has risen to No.92 and will likely move at least into the 70s after his results here.
Muller looked flat after downing Australia's last hope Bernard Tomic in the quarter-finals.
The retro-clad lefty from Luxembourg quickly found himself two breaks behind and despite an improved second set, Troicki pounced in the vital ninth game and then served out the match.
Earlier world No.66 Kukushkin controlled his match against Mayer nicely and took advantage of a service break in each set against the fifth-seeded Argentine.
It will be Kukushkin's third final.
A 10-year tour journeyman, the Kazakh has one career title from St Petersburg in 2010.
It extends his winning-record in Sydney to seven matches after he won three in qualifying to make the main draw.
He's also yet to drop a set in that time.
Kukushkin can expect a rankings move into the 40s if he wins, something that will no doubt please his wife - who also doubles as his coach.
"I believe almost everyone in the world doesn't understand that a professional (men's) tennis player can have a woman, and especially a wife, as a coach," Kukushkin said when quizzed about the set-up.
"But it's good for me. We are together for seven years almost, and she's coaching me for I believe five or six.
"I believe every player and coach have tough moments on the court, like arguments and some tough moments, but we try to separate the life on the court and outside of the court."
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