Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas edged world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (7-6), 3-6, 6-3 in an absorbing semifinal at the Cincinnati Open on Saturday to set up a summit clash with Borna Coric after the Croatian¡¯s 6-3, 6-4 win over Cameron Norrie.

Tsitsipas saved a set point in the opening tie-break to take the lead, but collapsed in stunning fashion in the second set, falling behind 5-0 before narrowly avoiding a bagel.

But the Greek, who had just two wins in nine matches against Medvedev coming into the encounter, raised his game in the decider and broke the U.S. Open champion at 3-2 before comfortably serving out the match with some exquisite net play.

¡°I felt like the ball wasn¡¯t really flying off his racket,¡± Tsitsipas, who later withdrew from the doubles semifinals alongside Holger Rune, told reporters.

¡°I felt like he was trying too hard, and that¡¯s when I knew that I pushed him there, and it was something that I did over many consecutive rallies, a lot of physical effort. I knew that was my opportunity to go and strike.¡±

Sunday will be Tsitsipas¡¯ first final appearance in Cincinnati and his fifth overall in 2022.

¡°I¡¯m prepared for it,¡± said the former French Open finalist. ¡°I know it¡¯s not an easy task playing against him. You know, he¡¯s coming back from an injury, he¡¯s playing great tennis, and he¡¯s going to work very hard for it.¡±

Coric reached his second ATP Masters 1000 final ¡ª and first since undergoing shoulder surgery last year ¡ª with a commanding performance against Norrie, who offered little resistance against his opponent¡¯s heavy hitting from the baseline.

British ninth seed Norrie started brightly and raced into a 3-1 lead before Coric found his groove to win five straight games and secure the opening set.

¡°It was a very tough day, a very long day as well,¡± said Coric after both men¡¯s semifinals were delayed due to rain.

¡°At the beginning I was not there, I was not feeling the ball very well. Then I did find my rhythm. I started to serve better, I started to play much better and I think that was the key to the match.¡±

Coric, who struck 22 winners in all, kept up the momentum in the second set, clinching eight straight points to take a 4-2 lead before closing out the match to set up a third career meeting with Tsitsipas.