Britain’s Cam Norrie battled back from a set down to book his place in Saturday’s Moselle Open final for the second year in a row.
Seventh seed Norrie defeated Lorenzo Sonego 4-6 6-2 6-4 as he was taken to three sets for a fourth successive match.
The Brit will face either Vitaliy Sachko of Ukraine or Learner Tien of the United States as he searches for his first title since 2023, while he has also guaranteed a year-end ranking inside the world’s top 30.
It was the Italian that started the fastest of the two, breaking Norrie in his second service game to race into a 3-1 lead.
Sonego was strong on serve, as he took the first set 4-6 without Norrie having a break point. The Brit also appeared to be riled by what he perceived as slow play by his opponent.
But, determined to beat the world No 42, Norrie went up a gear in the second set, winning 6-2 in just 36 minutes.
Norrie, the only seed remaining at the ATP 250 event, was full of confidence heading into the deciding set, but could not capitalise on an early opportunity to break despite leading 0-40.
The pair continued to hold serve, before Norrie struck in the 10th game of the set with some powerful backhand shots to break Sonego and take the third set 6-4.
Norrie will now look to go one step further following a straight-sets defeat in last year’s final to France’s Benjamin Bonzi.
“Nothing changes for me,” Norrie told Sky Sports. “I want to continue to enjoy my tennis, that’s what I came here to do, so I’m lucky I get to play another match tomorrow.
“It’s always a battle when I play Lorenzo. I have a lot of respect for him, he’s so passionate about tennis and he showed that. He came to fight and we both fought hard today.
“I was really happy with my level. In the third set, even though he was fighting, I was really playing free and I had a lot of support from the crowd. That really helped me a lot and got me through the match.
“In the end I was able to stay calm and honestly, I enjoyed this match the most this week.
“To make the final again here, it’s a special stadium, it’s a nice feel. Nothing changes for me tomorrow. One more day to enjoy my tennis for the year. I’m a lucky guy.”
Djokovic progresses to Hellenic Championship final in Athens
Also through to a final, in his new adopted home city of Athens as he looks to secure a 101st title, is Novak Djokovic.
The Serbian defeated German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann 6-3 6-4 in the semi-finals of the Hellenic Championship.
Djokovic will face the winner of Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti and the USA’s Sebastian Korda in Saturday’s final.
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