In-form Andrey Rublev reaches Banja Luka final

Banja Luka ATP 250: The second-seeded Rublev, who triumphed at the Monte Carlo Masters last week, extended his winning run to eight matches with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Molcan.

Russia’s Andrey Rublev returns a ball to Peru’s Juan Varillas during their tennis singles match at the Sprska Tennis Open ATP 250 series tournament in Banja Luka. | Photo Credit: AFP

Andrey Rublev made his second final in as many weeks with a straight-sets win over Slovakia’s Alex Molcan in Banja Luka on Saturday.

The second-seeded Rublev, who triumphed at the Monte Carlo Masters last week, extended his winning run to eight matches with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Molcan.

“In the beginning I played really well, and then second set I lost a bit of focus,” said Rublev.

“Alex played a few good games and I started to get tight, I started to get nervous. But in the end I was able to win and that’s the most important thing.”

Rublev has reached the final without dropping a set and will play Novak Djokovic’s conqueror, Dusan Lajovic, for the title on Sunday.

The 70th-ranked Lajovic battled back from the brink of defeat to edge past fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic in three sets.

Kecmanovic led by a set and served for the match in the second, but Lajovic refused to buckle and won 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 after three hours.