Hamburg: Defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili saved two match points against Alexander Zverev before battling past the German 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) to reach final of the Hamburg European Open yesterday.
Basilashvili was staring at defeat while trailing 3-5 in the third set but the 27-year-old dug deep to deny local favourite Zverev and stay on course for a third career ATP title.
In today’s title clash, the fourth-seeded Georgian takes on Russian Andrey Rublev who beat Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6 7-5 6-1 in the other semi-final at the Rothenbaum Tennis Centre.
“It was a tough match, a tight match. There were a lot of ups and downs... I was emotional on court but I was able to finish it in the tiebreak and I’m really happy about that,” Basilashvili said.
Asked if he played his best tennis under pressure, he added: “It depends on the pressure. If it’s a little bit of pressure I play good. Today I was extremely tired in the tiebreak but I went for my shots and they all went in.