BEIJING — The United States advanced to the Olympic gold medal game in men's water polo for the first time in 20 years with a surprise victory over Serbia on Friday.

The Americans, ranked ninth in the world coming to Beijing, upset Serbia 10-5.

The United States will play two-time defending gold medalist Hungary in the final Sunday. The Hungarians, looking to become the first country to win three consecutive gold medals in the sport since Great Britain in 1920, beat Montenegro 11-9 in the other semifinal.

Serbia and Montenegro, which won a silver medal four years ago as a unified country, will play each other for bronze. They declared their independence two years ago.

The Americans opened up a three-goal advantage early in the third quarter, getting power-play goals from Ryan Bailey and captain Tony Azevedo to make it 7-4, and cruised the rest of the way.

Azevedo led the Americans with three goals, including one with 4:04 remaining that made it a three-goal game again.

The U.S. hasn't earned a medal in men's water polo since bringing home silver in 1988 in Seoul.