Sixth-seeded Tommy Paul pulled off a remarkable comeback to advance to the Hamburg Open final with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 defeat of No. 3 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia on Friday in Germany.
Paul trailed 3-0 in the second set before rattling off nine straight games to surge back in the second set and take command of the third. The American reached his 10th tour-level final and his second on clay, both of which have been this season after his title in Houston last month. De Minaur saved 13 of 17 break points on his serve but won just 44% of his second-serve points.
In the final, Paul will face qualifier Ignacio Buse, who became the first Peruvian to reach a tour-level final since Luis Horna in 2007 with a 6-1, 6-4 defeat of lucky loser Aleksander Kovacevic in 64 minutes. Buse, 22, wasn’t bothered by his 42% first-serve percentage, winning 89% of his service points.
Geneva Open
No. 4 Learner Tien outlasted No. 2 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan for a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (5) victory to reach the final in Switzerland, the first of his career on clay.
Tien appeared destined for an easy third-set tiebreaker when he jumped ahead 6-1. However, he failed to close out the win on his first four match points before finally doing so on his fifth and final opportunity. Tien, 20, is the youngest Geneva finalist since Sergi Bruguera in 1990 and the first American finalist in the tournament since Aaron Krickstein in 1984.
Tien will face unseeded Mariano Navone of Argentina, who bested three-time Geneva champion and No. 6 seed Casper Ruud of Norway, 7-5, 6-2. Navone had more winners (27-21) and fewer unforced errors (29-19). The winner of Saturday’s final will win his second career tour-level trophy.
–Field Level Media
