DOHA, Qatar — In a hard-fought semifinal at the Qatar Open, Andrey Rublev triumphed over Félix Auger-Aliassime with a score of 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (5), securing his spot in the final set to take place on Saturday.

Rublev, currently ranked 10th, faced No. 23 Auger-Aliassime and achieved this victory despite needing four match points to seal his win, marking his sixth victory against the Canadian in their last seven encounters.

While Rublev experienced defeat in the finals at Doha back in 2018, he emerged as the champion in 2020. The match lasted nearly three hours, during which he notably withstood a remarkable 21 aces from Auger-Aliassime.

“It required everything from me. It was incredibly tough today,” Rublev commented on the challenging match. “He was serving exceptionally well, and I just had to accept that I could do limited things. He’s one of the best servers on the tour, so I concentrated on trying to anticipate his moves and capitalizing on any moments I had to be aggressive.”

This upcoming final will be Rublev’s 27th career final and his first since August. He is set to compete against Jack Draper, who is ranked 16th and will be making his fifth appearance in a final.

Draper advanced to the finals by defeating No. 25 Jiri Lehecka with a scoreline of 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the semifinals. Despite Draper’s determination, he currently holds a record of 0-3 against Rublev in their previous encounters.