Tsitsipas rallies late, advances to Rotterdam final
After dropping the first set, top-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas defeats Jiri Lehecka to advance to the Rotterdam final. (0:31)
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Top-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas rallied past a qualifier at the Rotterdam hard-court indoor tournament on Saturday to reach his first final since the French Open last June.
Tsitsipas ended Czech qualifier Jiri Lehecka‘s run in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. He will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in Sunday’s final after the third seed came back from one set down to beat defending champion Andrey Rublev.
Tsitsipas was made to work for nearly two hours by the 137th-ranked Lehecka, who previously upset Denis Shapovalov.
Tsitsipas said he did not expect such an aggressive display from Lehecka.
“He was really pushing me,” Tsitsipas said. “I did not know what to expect, so I was trying to figure out his patterns and his game. He was playing incredibly well after the first serve, pressing and attacking like I had never seen before. I had to stay in the match and I managed to survive.”
Just after match point, Tsitsipas seemed a bit exasperated, running his fingers through his hair and letting out a large exhale before shaking his opponent’s hand at the net.
Lehecka, 20, was the lowest-ranked Rotterdam semifinalist since 1995 and Omar Camporese, who was ranked 225th.
Chasing a maiden ATP title, Auger-Aliassime hit 41 winners, including 11 aces, and won 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-2. It was his first win over Rublev.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.