Tsitsipas rallies to reach Rotterdam final

Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas has rallied past a qualifier at the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam to reach his first final since the French Open last June.

Tsitsipas ended Czech qualifier Jiri Lehecka's run 4-6 6-4 6-2 in the semi-finals of the hard-court indoor tournament.

The Greek world No.4 will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in Sunday's decider of the ATP 500 event after the Canadian third seed came back from a set down to beat defending champion Andrey Rublev.

Tsitsipas was made to work for nearly two hours by the 137th-ranked Lehecka, who previously upset Denis Shapovalov.

Tsitsipas said he did not expect such an aggressive display from Lehecka.

"He was really pushing me," Tsitsipas said.

"I did not know what to expect, so I was trying to figure out his patterns and his game.

"He was playing incredibly well after the first serve, pressing and attacking like I had never seen before.

"I had to stay in the match and I managed to survive."

The 20-year-old Lehecka was the lowest-ranked Rotterdam semi-finalist since 1995.

Chasing a maiden ATP title, Auger-Aliassime hit 41 winners, including 11 aces, to snare his first career win over second-seeded Russian Rublev, 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-2.