The stage is set for an all-top-two-seeds final at the Nordea Open in Bastad, Sweden, as No. 1 seed Andrey Rublev and second-seeded Luciano Darderi each came through hard-fought three-set semifinal victories on Saturday.
Rublev, representing Russia, took down third-seeded Alejandro Tabilo of Chile by a score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. On the other side of the bracket, Italy’s Darderi edged out unseeded Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay 6-4, 6-7 (11), 6-3. The 28-year-old Rublev, a former champion at Bastad in 2023, is chasing his 18th ATP Tour title. The 24-year-old Darderi, who is the defending champion at this event, will be looking to claim his sixth career tour-level win.
Rublev reached his 30th career tour-level final in impressive fashion, winning 77.6 percent of his first-serve points — converting 38 of 49 — and blasting 12 aces, three of which came in the deciding set. Tabilo mounted a strong effort, saving 10 of 13 break points and even surviving three match points before ultimately falling short.
Darderi’s path to the final was equally dramatic. He needed his 13th set point to close out the opening set, then watched three match points slip away during a second-set tiebreak as Vallejo fought back to force a third set. In total, Darderi successfully defended seven of eight break points and converted three of his five break point chances throughout the match.
At the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad in Switzerland, Sunday’s final will feature No. 7 seed Raphael Collignon of Belgium and unseeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, both of whom also came through in three sets on Saturday.
Collignon, who had never before reached an ATP Tour final, pulled off a remarkable comeback against No. 6 seed Juan Manuel Cerundolo of Spain, winning 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5. The 24-year-old Belgian saved a match point while serving at 3-5 in the second set, then broke back to win the tiebreak. Trailing 2-5 in the third set, he reeled off five consecutive games to seal the victory.
Tsitsipas, the former World No. 3 and 12-time tour champion, defeated Alexander Shevchenko of Kazakhstan 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to reach his first ATP Tour final in 16 months. The Greek star leaned on a powerful serve in the final set, dropping just one of 12 first-serve points to pull away decisively.
