Astana (Kazakhstan), Oct 8 (IANS): World No.6 Stefanos Tsitsipas reached his sixth tour-level final of the season on Saturday when he earned a comeback win against Andrey Rublev at the Astana Open, here.
In front of a lively crowd at the ATP 500 event, the Greek upped his intensity and aggression as the match went on to overcome the fifth seed 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 10 minutes.
"I hit with a lot of variation and mixing and it went my way towards the end. I stayed completely within my game. There were a few things I worked out," Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview.
"I kept pursuing those shots with a lot of passion and determination. It was not easy, being set down. Have to deal with a very good opponent on the other side of the net made it an extremely physical battle. I am pleased with myself for being so determined to make it work so well," he added.
With his victory, Tsitsipas has improved to 6-4 in his ATP head-to-head series against the World No.9 and will next face Novak Djokovic or Daniil Medvedev in Sunday's final.
The third seed, who qualified for the ATP Finals last week, is aiming to win his third tour-level title of the year in Astana, having triumphed in Monte Carlo and Mallorca.
In a tight first set, Rublev played the bigger points better, saving all three break points he faced to move ahead. However, Tsitsipas refused to go away as he started to open his shoulders and swing freely.
The Greek broke in the 10th game of the second set to level, before he held his nerve in the third set to earn his 53rd tour-level win of the season.
"My mentality kind of changed. I played with more of an aggressive game style and didn't have anything by luck. I was conscious of every single decision I was trying to follow and execute and those service games worked out pretty well. They kept me in the game and gave me that hope," Tsitsipas said.
The 24-year-old Tsitsipas is seeking his first ATP 500 title this week in Astana. He has reached eight finals at this level before this week but has yet to prevail.