Felix Auger-Aliassime sets Andrey Rublev final clash in Marseille

Marseille [France], February 20 : Felix Auger-Aliassime reached consecutive tour-level finals as he ended the breakout run of Roman Safiullin with a 7-6(4), 7-6(5) victory in the semi-finals of the Open 13 Provence in Marseille on Saturday.
The 21-year-old captured his maiden ATP Tour title last week in Rotterdam. Safiullin more than played his part in a tense two-hour, 27-minute battle, but Auger-Aliassime's quality shone through at crucial moments as the Canadian sealed his eighth consecutive win.
The World No. 9 acknowledged he had been made to work hard by his lower-ranked opponent to reach the final in Marseille for the second time. "Today was complicated, as I expected," said Auger-Aliassime after the match. "He [Safiullin] has been playing well this year so far and I think he'll be even better in the future.
"[He showed] tough qualities, serving well when he needed to, saving those break points in the second set. I'm glad I was able to find a way through to reach the final."
Auger-Aliassime will face Andrey Rublev in Sunday's championship match. Rublev leads their ATP head-to-headseries 2-1, although the pair's past meetings have all gone to a deciding set.
Rublev had earlier once again proved he has no problems upsetting the locals as he defeated a French opponent for the third consecutive match, putting an end to Benjamin Bonzi's dream run with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 semi-final victory.