Medvedev punches ticket to Halle Open final with win over Otte
26-year-old will play Hubert Hurkacz in Sunday's final
Back-to-back finals in grass-court tournaments would seem an ideal Wimbledon warm-up for most players. But Russia's Daniil Medvedev can't play at the All England Club this season.
The top-ranked Medvedev beat Oscar Otte 7-6 (3), 6-3 on Saturday to advance to the final of the Halle Open in Germany, a week after he was runner-up at 's-Hertogenbosch. Otte had set point at 5-3 up in the first set but Medvedev broke back before forcing the tiebreaker.
The 26-year-old Russian will play Hubert Hurkacz in Sunday's final after the big-serving Polish player beat Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4).
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime fell in the quarter-finals on Friday to Hurkacz.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime eliminated in Germany:
That hasn't stopped Medvedev building momentum on grass, though. His win over Otte left him 6-1 on grass this season, with the only loss a shock upset to then-205th-ranked Tim van Rijthoven at last week's 's-Hertogenbosch final in the Netherlands.
The decision on ranking points at Wimbledon also works in Medvedev's favour since he only reached the fourth round last year so has fewer points expiring than tournament winner Novak Djokovic.
With files from CBC Sports
