THE Winston-Salem Open final will play out between two unseeded competitors, with everything on the line for Sweden 22-year-old Mikael Ymer, and Belarusian 27-year-old Ilya Ivashka. Neither player has reached an ATP Tour-level final to this point, making this clash all the more important for the two competitors, who both earned their finals chance through a straight sets win.

Ymer overcame talented teenager Carlos Alcaraz, testing the 15th seed Spaniard and claiming the 7-5 6-3 victory in 76 minutes after fightingback from an early 3-5 deficit. The two players were similarly potent off their first serve, winning 71 per cent of points (Alcaraz) and 75 per cent of points (Ymer), respectively, though Ymer was far more consistent with a 67 per cent win rate on his second serve to outclass Alcaraz in the area.

Ymer will take on Ivashka, who blasted past Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2 6-1 in 68 minutes to earn his finals berth. Ivashka impressed on serve winning 83 per cent of his first serve points off a 63 per cent clip, and won nine of his 14 second serve points at 64 per cent proving that his first serve would get the job done. He did not face a single break point throughout, as he well and truly outclassed the Finnish talent and claimed 64 per cent of the overall points.

A maiden final victory would not only be a huge individual achievement, but also a national achievement on the court, with Ivashka looking to become the first male Belarusian singles title-holder since 2003, while Ymer is aiming to become the first Swede to win a tour-level title in over a decade.

WINSTON-SALEM OPEN SEMI-FINALS RESULTS: 

Mikael Ymer (SWE) defeated [15] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) 7-5 6-3
Ilya Ivashka (BLR) defeated Emil Ruusuvuori (FIN) 6-2 6-1

Picture credit: Getty Images