WASHINGTON (AFP) – Australian 19-year-old Alex De Minaur saved four match points Saturday and advanced to Sunday’s ATP Washington Open final, where he will face third-ranked defending champion Alexander Zverev.
The Aussie teen outlasted 20-year-old Russian Andrey Rublev 5-7, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 after two hours and 52 minutes while 21-year-old German Zverev ousted Greek teen Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-4.
‘‘It’s one of the biggest wins of my career,’’ De Minaur said. ‘‘Dug deep and never gave up. Couldn’t be prouder of myself.’’
De Minaur, ranked 72nd, won the last six points of the tie-breaker to force a third set, then broke 46th-ranked Rublev in the final game, winning on his fourth match-point chance when the Russian double faulted.
‘‘I’m probably going to look back on that and not know how I did that,’’ De Minaur said. ‘‘I managed to string along some great points. It was one of my best matches.
‘‘I had to play some really good points to get myself out of there. I took advantage of a lot of short balls and tried to dictate and that turned the match around.’’
It will be the youngest combined age of any ATP final since 20-year-old Rafael Nadal beat 19-year-old Novak Djokovic in 2007.
