Tsitsipas edges out Goffin to close in on first clay-court title
Stefanos Tsitsipas reached his third ATP Tour final of the season by coming from behind to see off David Goffin at the Estoril Open, where he is seeking a first career clay-court title.
The Greek world number 10 prevailed 3-6 6-4 6-4 to book a final against Pablo Cuevas on Sunday.
Goffin had won two of the three meetings between the pair last year – including their only clash on clay - while Tsitsipas had suffered defeat at the semi-final stage of this tournament in 2018.
But top seed Tsitsipas is now one win away from glory in Portugal after beating Goffin in a last-four match for the second time this season, having also done so in Marseille.
He triumphed despite seeing his serve broken five times in the first two sets, as a back-and-forth encounter ended with a total of 10 breaks.
Order was restored in the decider, where both players held serve until Tsitsipas made a critical break at 4-4, before holding in the following game to claim victory with his second match point.
Superb from Stef
— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) May 4, 2019
: @TennisTV | @EstorilOpen | @StefTsitsipas pic.twitter.com/RxU5hQ4eqz
Qualifier Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who is ranked 167 in the world and stunned Gael Monfils in the last eight, looked to be on course to join Tsitsipas in the final, but ultimately lost out 3-6 6-2 6-2 against Cuevas.
In the BMW Open, Cristian Garin followed up on his shock triumph over Alexander Zverev with a 6-2 6-4 win over third seed Marco Cecchinato in just 72 minutes.
"I am very happy with the game that I am [playing] - I am playing great this week," said the confident Chilean, who will face either Roberto Bautista Agut or Matteo Berrettini in the final.
Bautista Agut and Berrettini's semi-final was postponed until Sunday due to rain in Munich, meaning they will need to win two matches in a day if they are to claim the title.
Garin Gets It
— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) May 4, 2019
@Garin_Cris defeats Cecchinato 6-2. 6-4 to move into the Munich final
: @BMWOpenbyFWU pic.twitter.com/v3Ea9r3uGf