Tabilo topples Monfils, faces Ofner in Mallorca final
pa href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/alejandro-tabilo/te30/overview'Alejandro Tabilo/arsquo;s career-best season keeps getting better and better./p
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The Chilean advanced to his third final of the year Friday when he rallied past Frenchman a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/gael-monfils/mc65/overview'Gael Monfils/a 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) at the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/mallorca/8994/overview'Mallorca Championships presented by Waterdrop/a./p
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The 27-year-old joins a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jaime-fillol/f428/overview'Jaime Fillol/a Sr. as the only Chilean men in the Open Era to reach tour-level finals on clay, grass and hard courts. A champion in Auckland and runner-up in Santiago, Tabilo is the first Chilean to reach three ATP Tour finals in a single season since a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/cristian-garin/gd64/overview'Cristian Garin/a in 2019./p
pldquo;I couldnrsquo;t have even imagined the first week of the year, winning my first ATP [title],rdquo; Tabilo said. ldquo;We are here now and hopefully we can keep going with this level.rdquo;/p
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The fourth seed recovered from a slow start, leaning on his serve and forehand to dig him out of trouble. After falling a double break down in the opening set, Tabilo quickly regrouped and did not drop a point behind his first serve in the second set. The lefty frequently moved forward in critical moments, winning 20/26 net points, according to Infosys ATP Stats./p
pldquo;I think I started a little nervous, not really intense. I couldnrsquo;t find the court,rdquo; Tabilo said. ldquo;As the first set went on, I started getting a little looser, started hitting the ball [better]. Second set, I knew it was a new match and I had to start all over.rdquo;/p
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Up four spots to No. 20 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, Tabilo is set for a new career-high Monday. In Saturday's final he will face Austrian a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/sebastian-ofner/o513/overview'Sebastian Ofner/a, who defeated British qualifier a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/paul-jubb/j0a4/overview'Paul Jubb/a 6-4, 7-5. Tabilo is also in the Mallorca doubles final with partner a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/diego-hidalgo/h928/overview'Diego Hidalgo/a./p
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pOfner was strong on serve throughout and closed out the match with his 14th and 15th aces. He saved a break point in his final two service games and dropped just four points on his first serve throughout the match./p
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"I have always played well on grass, so for my first final to come on grass is something special," Ofner said. "It's also the surface on which I qualified for my first Grand Slam at a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/wimbledon/540/overview'Wimbledon/a. /pp
"[In the last games] I just wanted to go with power on my first serve because that's the best chance to have no rally. But I played great the last games and happy that I got the win."/p
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