Advertisement

Tsitsipas to battle Auger-Aliassime for Marseille Open title

(Reuters) - Greek second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik 7-5 6-3 to advance to his second consecutive Open 13 Provence final in Marseille on Saturday where he will face Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Tsitsipas has yet to drop a set in Marseille and was clinical in the semi-final, dropping just one point on serve in the second set, as he looks to become the first man to win back-to-back titles at the tournament since Sweden's Thomas Enqvist in 1998.

"It keeps getting better and better," Tsitsipas said. "I really appreciate all the love that I receive here and tomorrow is an exciting day.

"I need to prepare, be ready for it and I can't wait to show an even better Stefanos tomorrow."

The world number six is looking to win his first trophy of the year after premature exits at the Australian Open and the Rotterdam Open.

Auger-Aliassime, who lost the final in Rotterdam last weekend, will look to make amends after he beat Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-5 7-6(2) to advance.

The 19-year-old Auger-Aliassime, who fired five aces and needed only two break points to seal his place in his second final of the season, holds a 2-1 winning record over Tsitsipas.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)