HAMBURG, Germany -- Defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili saved two match points to beat second-seeded Alexander Zverev on Saturday and reach the final of the Hamburg European Open.
The fourth-seeded Georgian won 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5) after three hours and eight minutes and will face either Andrey Rublev or Pablo Carreno Busta on Sunday.
Zverev led 5-3 in the third set, much to his home crowd’s delight, before Basilashvili saved one match point with a forehand winner and the other when he sprinted to the net to swat away a forehand volley.
That was on his own serve and Basilashvili would later break Zverev and take it to the tiebreaker, where he then rallied from 5-2 down to seal his place in the final.
