WASHINGTON: Third-seeded Alex de Minaur fought back from a set down for a second straight match on Saturday, downing Ilya Ivashka 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the final of the ATP Atlanta Open.
De Minaur lined up a title clash with sixth-seeded Jenson Brooksby, who beat fourth-seeded fellow American Frances Tiafoe 6-1, 6-4. De Minaur, whose five ATP titles include a victory in Atlanta in 2019, is in his first final of 2022.
After battling back from a set down to beat Adrian Mannarino in the quarter-finals, the Australian again surrendered the first set after a lengthy rain delay at 5-5.
“I just found a way to get through,” said de Minaur, who saved two break points to open both the second and third sets before going on to take control.
“It wasn’t an ideal start but these things happen,” he said. “You adapt, you move on and try to do the best that you can.”
Brooksby took control early against Tiafoe, surging to a 3-0 lead on the way to pocketing the first set.
Brooksby grabbed another early break in the second set and didn’t face a break point until he was serving for the match.
That decisive game went to deuce five times, but Brooksby put it away on his sixth match point to reach his third career ATP final and second of 2022 after his runner-up performance in Dallas.
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“I came out really fired up,” Brooksby said. “I think I kept it up in the second, then he started competing, started playing better… I was a little nervous there (at the end of) the second set.”
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