BARCELONA: Russian Andrey Rublev fought back to beat Hamad Medjedovic 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the Barcelona Open on Saturday to reach his first final of the season where he will play Arthur Fils.

Medjedovic, who came through the qualifiers, had stunned third seed Alex de Minaur in the last 16 and the Serbian came out swinging in the opening set, saving five break points to put one foot in the final.

But Rublev recovered in the second set, improving on his second serve to level the match before dominating the third set on the back of a superb first serve as Medjedovic’s unforced error count climbed.

After three semi-final exits this year, former world number five Rublev will play his first final since he lost in Hamburg 11 months ago.

“Of course, I would like to (win the title). If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t happen, we keep working, what can I do? Not much to say,” he said in an on-court interview.

Fils was also forced to make a comeback as he beat Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to register a landmark 100th victory on the ATP Tour.

Jodar, who won the Grand Prix Hassan II title this month, was on an eight-match win streak but he could not stop Fils from reaching his second final of the year. Fils lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the Doha final in February.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2026