Water polo: Italy beat Serbia to reach final

Serbia head coach Dejan Udovicic directs his team as the met Italy during their Men's Semifinal water polo match during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 10, 2012.

LONDON (Reuters) - Italy defeated Serbia 9-7 in the semi-finals of the men's water polo tournament, lining up a gold-medal match against Croatia, and denying tournament favorites Serbia a shot at the gold medal.

The Italians upstaged the Serbians, who failed to convert their offensive opportunities and found themselves thwarted by the Italian's impenetrable goalkeeper Stefano Tempesti.

The match on Friday was a repeat of the outcome of last year's world championships, when Italy beat Serbia in extra time to win the title.

Italy will play Croatia in the final on Sunday to win what will be their first medal in water polo since 1996, while Serbia will face Montenegro in the bronze medal match, a repeat of the third place match in Beijing.

(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Alison Williams)