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 The French qualifier will meet second-seed Kevin Anderson in the
final, after the South African outlasted Tunisian Malek Jaziri 6-4
6-3 in the other semi-final.
Herbert, playing his eighth match in seven days, came from a set
down against the 13th-seeded Johnson and shrugged off an early break
in the second to win a roller-coaster contest in one hour, 40
minutes.
Herbert, a doubles specialist who is ranked 140th in the singles,
broke Johnson's serve twice in the third set and powered down 19
aces during the match to reach the final.
"I'm taking every day step by step, point by point, and trying not
to think," Herbert, who needed almost two hours to beat Spaniard
Pablo Carreno-Busta 4-6 7-6(5) 6-2 in the quarters, told reporters.
"Maybe that's why I'm capable of being there (in the final). I
cannot believe it, really. I'm really tired."
The 49th-ranked Johnson had benefited from a walkover to reach the
last four after Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun withdrew from their
quarter-final on Thursday because of a back injury.
Herbert, a 24-year-old from Alsace, will be the underdog in the
final against Anderson at the Wake Forest Tennis Center on Saturday.
But if Herbert prevails, he would become the first qualifier to win
an ATP World Tour title after playing nine matches since Spaniard
Roberto Carretero triumphed in Hamburg in 1996.
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Herbert is the eighth qualifier to reach an ATP World Tour final
this year.
In the nightcap, Anderson almost dropped the first game against
Jaziri but recovered from 40-0 down to hold serve and pave the way
for a comfortable victory.
"My serve, I feel like it's my biggest strength," said Anderson, who
has two ATP titles.
"Even on those break points, down love-40, I feel I can navigate my
way out of those games."
Jaziri, ranked 88th in the world, had to work hard to hold serve
throughout, though he negotiated his way out of some tight spots
against his higher-ranked opponent and was only broken once in each
set.
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by John
O'Brien)
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