American tennis player Tommy Paul mounted an impressive turnaround Friday to secure his spot in the Hamburg Open championship match, overcoming Australia’s Alex de Minaur 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in semifinal action in Germany.
The sixth-seeded Paul found himself in deep trouble early, falling behind 3-0 in the second set after dropping the opener. But the American then dominated play, capturing nine consecutive games to flip the match in his favor and control the deciding set. This marks Paul’s 10th career tour-level final appearance and his second on clay surfaces, with both clay finals coming this season following his Houston championship last month. While de Minaur managed to save 13 of 17 break point opportunities, he struggled on second serves, winning only 44% of those points.
Paul’s championship opponent will be qualifier Ignacio Buse, who made history by becoming Peru’s first player to reach a tour-level final since Luis Horna accomplished the feat in 2007. The 22-year-old Buse dominated lucky loser Aleksander Kovacevic 6-1, 6-4 in just 64 minutes. Despite landing only 42% of his first serves, Buse was nearly perfect on serve, winning 89% of his service points.
At the Geneva Open in Switzerland, No. 4 Learner Tien survived a marathon battle against Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, the tournament’s second seed, prevailing 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (5) to claim his first clay court final berth.
The 20-year-old Tien looked poised for an easy finish after racing to a 6-1 lead in the decisive tiebreaker, but needed five match points before finally securing victory. Tien becomes Geneva’s youngest finalist since Sergi Bruguera in 1990 and marks the first American to reach the tournament’s final since Aaron Krickstein in 1984.
Tien’s final opponent will be unseeded Argentine Mariano Navone, who upset three-time Geneva champion and sixth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway 7-5, 6-2. Navone controlled the match with superior shot-making, recording 27 winners compared to Ruud’s 21 while committing fewer unforced errors 29-19. Saturday’s Geneva final will crown a second-time tour-level champion, as both players seek their second career trophy.
