Stefanos Tsitsipas has secured a hard-fought 5-7 6-4 6-2 win over Serbia's Dusan Lajovic in the Barcelona Open to set up a final with Norwegian third seed Casper Ruud.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Fifth seed Tsitsipas is chasing his second title of the season after he dismantled Ruud 6-1 6-4 to win the Monte Carlo Masters last week for the third time in four years.
The two will meet again in the showpiece match on Sunday after Ruud beat Argentina's Tomas Etcheverry 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 in the other semi-final earlier on Saturday.
Lajovic broke to take the opening set against the Greek Tsitsipas after neither player dropped serve in the first 11 games.
Tsitsipas committed 22 unforced errors in that set but his performance improved and he broke Lajovic's serve in the second to take a 4-3 lead and eventually level the match.
Another two breaks in the decider put Tsitsipas 4-1 in front as he marched on to book his spot in a fourth Barcelona final.
"Having played someone a few days apart, for sure they're going to come up with new plans and new adjustments," Tsitsipas said when asked about his rematch with Ruud.
"I'm expecting a much better version of what I had in Monte Carlo ... Of course these kind of matches are tricky, playing back to back. You try to see what works best for you. The opponent is trying to get as good as he can for the next one."
World No.6 Ruud has not dropped a set so far as he cruised past Etcheverry to reach his fourth final this year, although he is still seeking his first tour-level title since lifting the trophy in Estoril last April.
The pair were evenly matched in the first set until Ruud took his first chance to break for a 4-2 lead before Etcheverry, seeded 13th, broke back in the following game.
The Argentine saved two set points to force a tiebreak, only for Ruud to clinch it having saved a set point himself after a 76-minute battle.
It was just as close in the second but Ruud proved too strong for Etcheverry, who was playing in his first ATP 500 semi-final.
"Those three finals losses this year have been making me hungrier," Ruud said. "I'm going to dream about clinching the title tonight.
"Last week I put a bit too much pressure on myself. I play my best when I'm cool and don't think too much about it out there. That's what I did today."
Before his defeat by Tsitsipas in Monte Carlo last week, Ruud had already lost finals in Los Cabos, to Jordan Thompson, and in Acapulco, to Alex de Minaur, this year.
This time, there'll be no Australian in his way in the final after Ruud accounted for Thompson in the last-16.
Australian Associated Press
