Hong Kong, Jan 6 Andrey Rublev was pushed to the limit by Chinese wildcard Shang Juncheng before booking his spot in the final of the Hong Kong Tennis Open here on Saturday.
The top seed posted a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 triumph over the 18-year-old Shang to advance to his 24th ATP Tour final, where he'll meet Emil Ruusuvuori on Sunday. Ruusuvuori personified resilience in a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 two-hour tussle with World No.43 Sebastian Ofner.
"It was a super tough match. He's super talented and super powerful, he was playing unbelievable, making winners from any position and I was thinking at some points I have no chance," said Rublev after winning his maiden ATP Tour clash with Shang.
"I definitely wasn't surprised as he's beaten some great players this week and since the beginning of the match, he was hitting with full power. I was just afraid of what to do.
"Somehow, I kept fighting, made myself think positive thoughts, to keep negative thoughts out of my head. It was close right until the end," said Shang, the No. 183 in the ATP Rankings.
Shang, conqueror of three Top 50 players this week, played an opening set brimming with fearless and instinctive tennis. The ATP semifinal debutant sent out a signal of intent by breaking Rublev in the very first game.
Later down a break point at 5-4, Shang skimmed a backhand onto the outer edge of the tramline, with a booming ace then secured the opener to the delight of a raucous home crowd.
In the second set, Rublev sent his own cannonball backhand down the line to break for 2-0, letting out an almighty roar to ignite his comeback. The World No.5 proved his top-tier credentials by saving all five break points in the second set and all three of Shang's break chances in the decider, while a series of corner-to-corner rallies had Rublev's team on their feet in celebration.
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