Hamburg, Germany : Sixth seed Tommy Paul staged a strong comeback to beat third seed Alex de Minaur 2-6 6-3 6-3 on Friday and reach the final of the Hamburg Open in Germany.
Paul trailed 3-0 in the second set before winning nine consecutive games to seize control of the match and book his 10th tour-level final and second on clay this season following his title in Houston last month.
De Minaur saved 13 of 17 break points but won only 44% of points behind his second serve.
In Saturday’s final, Paul will face Peruvian qualifier Ignacio Buse, who defeated lucky loser Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-1 6-4 in 64 minutes.
The 22-year-old Buse became the first Peruvian player to reach a tour-level final since Luis Horna in 2007. Despite landing only 42% of his first serves, he won 89% of his service points.
At the Geneva Open, fourth seed Learner Tien defeated second seed Alexander Bublik 6-1 4-6 7-6(5) to reach the first claycourt final of his career.
Tien looked set for a comfortable finish after leading 6-1 in the deciding tiebreak but failed to convert four match points before sealing victory on his fifth chance.
The 20-year-old became the youngest Geneva finalist since Sergi Bruguera in 1990 and the first American to reach the final there since Aaron Krickstein in 1984.
Tien will meet Argentina’s Mariano Navone in the final after Navone beat three-time Geneva champion Casper Ruud 7-5 6-2.
Navone finished with 27 winners and 19 unforced errors, compared with Ruud’s 21 winners and 29 unforced errors.
Saturday’s winner will claim the second ATP Tour title of their career.
