Pablo Carreno Busta sets Chengdu final meeting with Alexander Bublik

Pablo Carreno Busta and Alexander Bublik will play for the title in Chengdu after each won their semifinal encounters in straight sets at the ATP 250 event on Saturday.

Carreno Busta denied Denis Shapovalov his first ATP final appearance, defeating the Canadian 6-3, 6-4, after capitalizing on both break points he created. Despite firing 12 aces to zero double faults, Shapovalov dropped to 0-7 in tour-level semifinals. The Spaniard is seeking his fourth ATP singles crown and first since triumphing at Estoril in 2017.

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For Bublik, he backed up his win over Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals—where he saved two match points—to reach his second title match of the year. The 22-year-old edged lucky loser Lloyd Harris, 7-6 (6), 6-4, after 85 minutes of work. Bublik is aiming to lift his first ATP trophy, having finished runner-up earlier this season to John Isner in Newport.

In the pair’s lone previous meeting, Carreno Busta topped the Kazakh in a final set tiebreaker to win their 2016 quarterfinal in Moscow. He went on to capture the title that week.