TWO rising stars will face off at Cologne, as two clay court specialists go head-to-head in Sardinia for the finals of the ATP 250 events following their semi-finals victories today.

In Germany, top seed Alexander Zverev reached the Cologne final after a tight two-set win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and will not play third seed Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the indoor hard court event. The Canadian had to fight hard but gave himself a chance at his first title, taking three sets to down second seed Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut. Auger-Aliassime won 6-3 1-6 6-3 in an hour and 50 minutes to advance through to the final.

Serving seven aces and winning 73 per cent of his first serve points, the young Canadian found the going tough against his more experienced opponent, with Bautista Agut his ever-reliable self throughout the match. The Spaniard did well off Auger-Aliassime’s second serve, winning 52 per cent of the points, whilst both players broke twice from six chances. Luckily for the third seed, aside from a disappointing second set, he broke once in each of the first and third sets to claim the victory.

“It’s a good win. It’s good for my confidence to be able to beat Roberto since he beat me last time last year in a tough match,” Auger-Aliassime said post-match. “Obviously I’m happy to beat a player like this today.”

Now Auger-Aliassime sets his sights on Zverev who knocked off Davidovich Fokina 7-5 7-6 in an hour and 56 minutes. The German hit 10 aces to zero and won 72 per cent of his first serve points, breaking twice from seven chances to the Spaniard’s once from two chances, to get away with the victory. The Canadian said it would be a tough match against an opponent who had beaten him in both the matches they had played.

“I’ve practised with him many times back home… hopefully tomorrow I can give myself chances to win. It’s going to be a great battle,” Auger-Aliassime said post-match. “We’ve already played twice and for sure it’s the start of our careers and we’re going to play many times. This is our first final playing [each other] and hopefully not the last.”

COLOGNE SEMI-FINALS RESULTS:

[1] Alexander Zverev (GER) defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-5 7-6
[3] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) defeated [2] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 6-3 1-6 6-3

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Italian clay courter Marco Cecchinato was back at his best in the Sardinia Open with a stunning 6-1 6-0 victory over Serbian lucky loser Danilo Petrovic to advance through to the final of the event. He dropped just one game in a match shy of an hour, winning 65 per cent of the points, including 50 and 78 per cent off Petrovic’s serve. On serve, Cecchinato only dropped 13 points on his way to a comprehensive five breaks from 11 chances without facing a break point himself.

Now the Italian wildcard will hope to win on home soil when he takes on unseeded Serbian Laslo Djere. Whilst Cecchinato has won three titles, his next opponent Djere has only won the one, with the world number 74 hoping to double that tally in the final. He had his hands full against Italian wildcard Lorenzo Musetti during a come-from-behind three-set win which saw the 18-year-old Italian retire in the third set.

Djere won 2-6 6-2 4-1 before the Italian had to retire with a right elbow concern, as the 25-year-old won 10 of the last 13 games before posting the win. He served the only three aces of the match and won 69 and 52 per cent of his first and second serve points, then broke four times to three. It was enough to get the upper hand in the third set after his opponent was in clear distress with his elbow.

“I knew that he was playing really well, had a lot of confidence and had some great results in the past few weeks, but I didn’t expect the high level that he played in the first set,” Djere said post-match. “It surprised me a bit and I didn’t have the answer.

“I managed to stay focused and fought back in the second set, which I am really happy about. “My level was higher in the second set, [as was] my intensity. I changed tactics a little bit and I was more focused on my serve.”

SARDINIA SEMI-FINALS RESULTS:

[WC] Marco Cecchinato (ITA) defeated [LL] Danilo Petrovic (SRB) 6-1 6-0
Laslo Djere (SRB) defeated [WC] Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) 2-6 6-2 4-1

Picture: Getty Images