Andrey Rublev beats Dominic Thiem to face Sebastian Korda in Gijon Open final

The Russian, top seed and ranked ninth in the world, will face Sebastian Korda in Sunday's final after he beat Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (7/2), 6-3. Rublev, playing aggressively, broke to move 3-1 ahead in the first set and after the Austrian broke back for 5-4 expressed his anger but managed to follow suit to seal the first set. In the second set Thiem saved two match points but Rublev eventually sealed the victory with another break as he closes in on his fourth title of the year.

"When I was winning 4-1 with a break point for 5-1 it looks like the match is going my way and then I am at 5-4 with him serving," said Rublev. "That's not easy to accept, but I was lucky I played a really good game and Dominic helped me out a little bit. "Then I felt more confident and I was able to win in two sets, which was the most important thing.

This week I have been playing really well and I'll try to show my best tennis of the week tomorrow." Rublev, who also beat Ilya Ivashka and Tommy Paul on the way to the final, is aiming to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin. Thiem, who won the US Open in 2020, is still searching for his best form after a wrist injury and has lost four consecutive matches against Rublev. American world number 47 Korda saw off Rinderknech, saving two break points to pull level at 5-5 in the first set, before winning the tie-break.

Korda broke to move 4-2 up in the second set and served out, winning when his French opponent pushed a return into the net. "It was a really close match, but I'm very happy and excited for tomorrow," said Korda, looking to add to his maiden ATP Tour title won at the Emilia-Romagna Open last year.