Hamburg, May 23: Tommy Paul secured his spot in the finals of the Hamburg Open by defeating Australia’s Alex de Minaur 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals held in Germany on Friday.
The sixth-seeded American player faced a challenging start, losing the first set and trailing 0-3 in the second. However, Paul turned the match around by winning nine consecutive games, regaining control in the final set. With this victory, the 28-year-old Paul reached his 10th ATP Tour-level final and his second final on clay courts this season, having previously won a title in Houston last month.
Despite de Minaur saving 13 out of 17 break points, he struggled with his second serve, winning only 44 percent of those points. Paul effectively wore him down from the baseline. In the final, Paul will face Ignacio Buse, who continued his impressive form by defeating lucky loser Alexander Kovacevic 6-1, 6-4 in just 64 minutes. Buse is the first Peruvian player to reach an ATP Tour-level final since Luis Horna in 2007.
Meanwhile, at the Geneva Open in Switzerland, American teenager Learner Tien advanced to his first career clay-court final by defeating Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(5). Tien built a 6-1 lead in the final set tiebreak but faced some nerves, losing four match points before finally clinching the win on his fifth opportunity.
At just 20 years old, Tien became the youngest player to reach the Geneva Open final since Sergi Bruguera in 1990. He is also the first American to reach the final there since Aaron Krickstein in 1984. Tien will face Argentina’s Mariano Navone in the final, who defeated three-time Geneva champion Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-2 in the other semifinal.
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