tennis

Basilashvili beats Zverev to reach Hamburg final

Published Jul. 27, 2019 1:55 p.m. ET

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili saved two match points to beat second-seeded Alexander Zverev on Saturday and reach the final of the Hamburg European Open.

The fourth-seeded Georgian won 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5) and will face Andrey Rublev of Russia on Sunday.

Zverev led 5-3 in the third set, much to his home crowd's delight, before Basilashvili saved one match point with a forehand winner and the other when he sprinted to the net to swat away a forehand volley.

That was on his own serve and Basilashvili went on to break Zverev and take it to the tiebreaker, where he then rallied from 5-2 down to seal his place in the final.

Rublev also produced a comeback in his semifinal to beat Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.

After finding himself 4-2 down in the second set, Rublev recovered to win 11 of the last 13 games.

Rublev has struggled with injuries over the past year and a half. The Russian missed three months last season due to a lower back stress fracture, and was out for six weeks this year with a wrist injury.

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