Musetti Qualifies For Chengdu Open Final

Italian tennis star Lorenzo Musetti defeated Alexander Shevchenko 6-3, 6-1 to qualify for the final at the Chengdu Open on Monday.

He won 92 per cent (24 of 26) of the points on his first serve and never faced a break point.

Musetti reached his maiden ATP Tour final on hard courts in Chengdu last year, falling to Shang Juncheng in the title match.

Qualifier Alejandro Tabilo continued his impressive run in Chengdu with a 6-4, 7-6(0) win against fourth seed Brandon Nakashima after one hour and 36 minutes.

Tabilo won titles in Auckland and Mallorca last year; however, he has struggled in the past 18 months.

He arrived in Chengdu holding a 5-13 record on the season but has dropped just one set en route to the final, having survived a deciding-set tie-break against Lloyd Harris in the second round of qualifying.

The Chilean is up 28 places to No. 84 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and is set to return to the Top 100 following the ATP 250 event.

He expressed his delight after booking a place in the final on Tuesday.

Tabilo said, “I think it was very solid throughout the whole match. He served well, so I had to stay there and wait. I started off well today and served well, and I am happy with the performance. It has been up and down, a few months out as well, so I’m just so happy to be back in another final.”

Similarly, Alexander Bublik defeated Chinese wild card Wu Yibing 6-3, 6-3 to qualify for the final at the Hangzhou Open in China.

He joined Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev as the only men to advance to tour-level finals on all three surfaces this season.

In a dominant performance against Wu, Bublik fired 19 aces past the home favourite to reach the championship match after 61 minutes.

He will face French qualifier Valentin Royer in the championship match on Tuesday.

Royer continued his breakthrough week with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph against countryman Corentin Moutet.

The 24-year-old was competing in his first tour-level semi-final and is the fourth qualifier to reach an ATP Tour final this year.

The Hangzhou Open is a men’s tennis tournament played on outdoor hardcourts in China.