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Novak Djokovic reaches first final of ATP Tour season at Serbia Open and will play Andrey Rublev

Novak Djokovic to face Andrey Rublev in the final of the Serbia Open; world No 1 looking to add to his victories in the event in 2009 and 2011; Iga Swiatek into final of Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart after 22nd consecutive victory

Novak Djokovic, Serbia Open (Associated Press)
Image: Novak Djokovic has reached his first final of the 2022 ATP Tour season

Novak Djokovic has reached his first final of the 2022 ATP Tour season with the world No 1 to face Andrey Rublev in Sunday's title match at the Serbia Open.

Djokovic came from a set down to defeat Russia's Karen Khachanov 4-6 6-1 6-2 and make his third Serbia Open final, having won the event in his birth city of Belgrade in 2009 and 2011.

The 34-year-old has only played two events this year prior to this week's event, losing to Jiri Vesely in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships in February and then suffering a shock defeat to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the last 32 of the Monte Carlo Masters earlier this month.

Djokovic missed the Australian Open after being deported following a row over his Covid-19 vaccination status, which also prohibited him from playing in the US hard court swing.

Top seed Djokovic will face No 2 seed Rublev after the latter breezed past Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-2-6-2.

Djokovic and Rublev this week criticised Wimbledon's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from the tournament due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Djokovic branded the call "crazy", while Rublev said it was "complete discrimination".

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Swiatek into Stuttgart final after 22nd victory in a row

Women's World No 1 Iga Swiatek also came from a set down to beat Liudmila Samsonova in a competitive semi-final at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart to extend her winning streak to 22 matches.

Iga Swiatek (Associated Press)
Image: Iga Swiatek is into the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final after a 22nd consecutive victory

The Polish player, who defeated Emma Raducanu in Friday's quarter-final, saw her run of 28 consecutive winning sets snapped as Russian star Samsonova won the opener after a tie-break.

However, Swiatek rallied to take the next two and record a 6-7 6-4 7-5 victory to remain on course for her fourth title of 2022 after previous triumphs in Qatar, Indian Wells and Miami.

Swiatek - whose sole grand slam title to date came at the 2020 French Open - will face Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka in Sunday's final.

Sabalenka is into the final for the second year in a row after beating Spain's Paula Badosa 7-6 6-4 in the last four.

The 23-year-old lost to the now-retired Ashleigh Barty in last year's final.

Rain delays semi-finals in Barcelona

The semi-finals of the ATP Tour's Barcelona Open were suspended because of rain and will now be finished on Sunday, the same day as the final.

Carlos Alcaraz's match with Alex de Minaur and Pablo Carreno's clash with Diego Schwartzman were both paused at 2-2 in the first set.

The matches will resume at 11am local time (0900 GMT) on Sunday.

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