Andrey Rublev and Jiri Vesely to clash in final of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

DUBAI: Andrey Rublev will face qualifier Jiri Vesely in Saturday’s final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after the No. 2 seed claimed a tense 3-6 7-5 7-6 victory over Hubert Hurkacz and Vesely outlasted sixth seed Denis Shapovalov 6-7 7-6 7-6.

Rublev, who is attempting to win his second title in two weeks after claiming the Marseille trophy on Sunday, had started his last two matches on the back foot, suffering an early break of serve, losing the opening set and then fighting back to win in the third. And he did exactly the same again in the semifinals, surviving a barrage of 27 aces from Hurkacz and squeezing his way through by the narrowest of margins.

“After the first win, I said whatever happen this week is already [a] bonus,” said Rublev. “Like I said, I’m tired and I don’t really have much energy, so [I] try not to spend extra. If you can save a bit of energy, try to do it. On court, just to try to fight till the end. Even if you don't have energy, just do your best and that’s it.”

“I wish to play shorter,” he said. “I mean, [on Thursday] I think I was losing 5-0 in less than 15 minutes or something like that. I [told] myself, ‘No way, it’s only 15 minutes and one set down. Please at least try to make it one hour.’

“Today I was thinking the same. I lost the first set 6-3 in 20-something minutes. It was so fast. He broke me. Till the end of the set, he was serving aces. I [told] myself the same, ‘Try second set to at least go to the tiebreak…I was just saying, ‘Okay, keep fighting no matter what.’”

Rublev lost his first service game to fall behind 2-0, and that was enough to decide the outcome of the first set. Breakpoint opportunities continued to be at a premium in the second set, with just one