Matteo Berrettini is through to his third Swiss Open final following an impressive straight-sets victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas. (More Tennis News)
The 2018 champion - and 2022 runner-up - prevailed 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 after one hour and 42 minutes to set up a championship showdown with Quentin Halys in Gstaad.
Berrettini had lost all five of his previous meetings with top seed Tsitsipas, but dropped just one point on serve during the opening set, which he eventually snatched in a tie-break.
The Greek was seeking his third ATP final of the season on clay, having triumphed in Monte-Carlo and been runner-up to Casper Ruud in Barcelona.
However, he just could not shake off the Italian, who crucially broke in game 11 of the second set before holding for victory.
He will contest Sunday's championship match with Frenchman Halys, who saw off fifth seed Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets.
Data Debrief: Big-serving Berrettini stuns Tsitsipas
The statistics certainly favoured Tsitsipas, who was 14-1 against Italian opponents on clay and 29-2 against players ranked outside the top 50 on surface since the start of the 2021 season.
However, Berrettini had other ideas. The former Wimbledon finalist, who was 1-6 against top-15 opponents on clay, won 92% of his first-serve points.
And while Tsitsipas double-faulted on four occasions, Berrettini stood firm and is now an impressive 12-1 in Gstaad.
