Roger Federer advanced to his first final of 2008 on Saturday although he was pushed all the way by Denis Gremelmayr at the Estoril Open.
The world number one has battled glandular fever and poor form this year and again looked out of sorts against the unseeded German.
Gremelmayr convincingly won the first set but the Swiss star hit back to secure a 2-6 7-5 6-1 triumph.
Federer, who will face Nikolay Davydenko in Sunday's final, had not gone this deep into a season without a final appearance since 2000.
The 26-year-old made two semi-final appearances in four events prior to this, but a rare first-round loss to Andy Murray at Dubai and a shocking defeat at the hands of then-98th-ranked Mardy Fish at Indian Wells had many observers wondering if the superstar's best days are behind him.
Although he has reached his maiden final of 2008, Federer has not exactly faced top-notch competition in Portugal.
Prior to beating the 104th-ranked Gremelmayr, Federer's previous three wins here came against 77th-ranked Olivier Rochus, number 68 Victor Hanescu and Frederico Gil, the world number 146.
Davydenko, a 6-2 6-2 winner over unseeded Frenchman Florent Serra, will have the task of trying to deny Federer his 54th career title.
The 26-year-old Russian has won 11 consecutive matches, including victories against world number six Andy Roddick and second-ranked Rafael Nadal en route to the crown in Miami last month.
He stands to make another huge statement here should he end up defeating Federer, who has won all 11 of their previous encounters.
Ranked fourth in the world, Davydenko will be after his 13th title on Sunday.
In the WTA tournament, second seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko beat Czech Klara Zakopalova 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 to set up a final against a second Czech in Iveta Benesova, a winner over Marat Ani of Estonia 6-2, 6-1.
