Next victory

Sebastian Ofner against Paul Jubb from 6 pm LIVE

Sebastian Ofner

(Bild: Friso Gentsch / dpa / picturedesk.com)

Sebastian Ofner goes for his first title on the ATP Tour on Saturday!

Austria's number 1 ended the run of British surprise man Paul Jubb at the grass tournament on Mallorca, winning 6:4, 7:5 and now plays his first final. His opponent at the end of the Wimbledon preparatory tournament in the 250 category is Alejandro Tabilo. The 24-year-old Chilean defeated the French veteran Gael Monfils 2:6, 6:2, 7:6(3).

"The first final is another small breakthrough!"
"It's certainly a milestone, but a bigger one would be the first ATP title," said Ofner, hungry for more after winning the semi-final on Friday. The 28-year-old Styrian said that reaching the final was actually incredible considering the season so far. "The first final is another small breakthrough."

In front of a crowd that included some vocal Austrian fans, Ofner lived up to his role as favorite. After 33 minutes, the Styrian clinched the first set with a strong service performance - only five points conceded and eight aces - and a break to make it 2:1.

"It's my first final, it's something special for me!"
Jubb, ranked 235 places lower than Ofner in the world rankings, had surprised everyone the day before by beating Ben Shelton (ATP 14th). And he improved in the second set by increasing his service percentage. Ofner, meanwhile, didn't let anything get to him as a server until he served against losing the set and fended off the Brit's first chance to break with an ace. At 5:5, Ofner dealt his opponent the decisive blow - and after fending off a break chance, served out the set with his 15th ace to make it 7:5.

"I've always played well on grass, but it's my first final, it's something special for me," said Ofner after reaching the final. He will face Tabilo for the first time on Saturday (3 p.m.). "I hope it will be a great final. He can play well on grass, but so can I. I hope I'm the winner."

Monfils missed out on a milestone for the time being in his 6-2, 2-6, 6-7 (3) defeat of Tabilo. He could have reached at least one final on the tour for the 20th season in a row. Only Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Jimmy Connors had previously achieved this for 19 years in a row.