Henri Kontinen of Finland and John Peers of Australia will play for their second tour-level title of the season on Sunday at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. The top seeds and Australian Open champions beat third seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 6-7(8), 7-5, 10-8 to reach the ATP World Tour 500-level final.

Kontinen/Peers hit 10 aces and saved six of seven break points to advance in one hour and 43 minutes. The semi-final was the second consecutive match they’ve clinched in a Match Tie-Break. They advanced to the semi-finals by beating Croatians Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic 7-5, 4-6, 14-12.

Kontinen/Peers will face Marcelo Melo of Brazil and Lukasz Kubot of Poland, who beat Americans Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 7-6(5), 6-4 to reach their first Citi Open doubles final. Melo and Kubot have now won an astounding 17 matches in a row, dating back to their title sprints at the Ricoh Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Gerry Weber Open in Halle and Wimbledon. Kubot/Melo beat Kontinen/Peers in the semi-finals at SW19.

Their last loss was more than two months ago, on 2 June, to Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus in the second round of Roland Garros. Harrison/Venus went on to win the clay-court Grand Slam title.

It has been an arduous comeback at times for Kevin Anderson, who has dealt with a myriad of injuries during the past two years since cracking the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings in October 2015.

But the South African took another big stride in returning to that elite group on Saturday. Anderson hit 12 aces and saved all five break points to overcome home favourite Jack Sock 6-3, 6-4 in the Citi Open semi-finals in Washington, D.C.

The South African reaches his first ATP World Tour final in two years, since August 2015, when he beat Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert for the Winston-Salem Open title, his third. On Sunday, Anderson will go for his fourth ATP World Tour crown and his first 500-level title when he faces either #NextGenATP German and fifth seed Alexander Zverev or second seed Kei Nishikori, who are scheduled to play at 7 p.m. local time in Washington.

Anderson reached three finals during that 2015 season – Memphis, The Queen’s Club, and Winston-Salem – which saw him finish at year-end No. 12 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. But last year, left knee, right shoulder and ankle and groin problems forced him to retire from two matches and withdraw altogether from nine tournaments. This season, Anderson worked through hip injuries to start the year but he’s gradually felt healthier, and his level and confidence have followed.

He entered the semi-final against Sock with a tournament-best 50 aces and having already saved a match point to knock out top seed Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals. Sock, however, had yet to drop a set in Washington and looked to be regaining the form that helped him win two ATP World Tour titles on the hard courts earlier this season (Auckland, Delray Beach) and reach the semi-finals at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells in March.

Anderson, though, jumped ahead from the start and didn’t let up. He broke Sock to lead 2-0 and was vocal throughout the 36-minute first set, frequently saying “Come on” and keeping himself focused on the match despite sometimes windy conditions. In the second set, Anderson again broke early and pushed away danger with big serves. While serving at 3-2, the right-hander erased two break points with aces to maintain his break lead. He served out the set to advance in 91 minutes.

Pablo Cuevas and Guillermo Duran earned their first team title in dramatic fashion at the Generali Open, surviving a thrilling Match Tie-break for the Kitzbühel crown.

Fourth seeds Cuevas and Duran saved one match point to defeat Hans Podlipnik-Castillo and Andrei Vasilevski 6-4, 4-6, 12-10 in one hour and 26 minutes. It was the third victory in a Match Tie-break for the Uruguayan-Argentine duo this week.

“We’ve known each other for a long time but we never had the chance to play together,” said Cuevas. “It’s a pleasure to play with a friend and it feels even better if you end the tournament in this way. We are very happy.”

Podlipnik-Castillo and Vasilevski did well to handle the pressure of their first individual ATP World Tour finals, saving eight of nine break points faced. They would also battle back from 7/4 down in the decider and earned a championship point at 10/9, but the Chilean-Belarusian tandem were unable to convert.

Cuevas and Duran denied the opportunity and capitalised on the second match point of their own, claiming a thrilling exchange two points later. Cuevas pummeled a short-angled backhand return to set up the clincher, which Duran would seal with a beautifully dug volley off a Vasilevski smash.

“I think it was important to remain calm during the Match Tie-break,” said Duran. “We were 7/4 ahead and then we lost three points in a row, but still managed to win.”

Individually, it was 31-year-old Cuevas’ eighth tour-level doubles title and third of the year. He previously prevailed with Pablo Carreno Busta in Rio de Janeiro and with Rohan Bopanna at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.

Duran sealed his fourth ATP World Tour doubles crown, all with different partners. It was his second victory of the year, having teamed with Andres Molteni to lift the Umag trophy last month.

Cuevas and Duran split €26,110 in prize money and 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points.

It was home cooking for Philipp Kohlschreiber at the Generali Open, as the local resident captured his second Kitzbühel crown on Sunday.

In what was the final clay-court match of the year on the ATP World Tour, Kohlschreiber dismissed Joao Sousa 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 22 minutes to take his eighth tour-level title. It was an emotional victory for the 33 year old, who was forced to retire from his Hamburg semi-final just one week ago with a leg injury.

But Kohlschreiber would bounce back strong in Kitzbühel, fighting back from a set down to defeat Dusan Lajovic in the quarters and ousting Gstaad champion Fabio Fognini in the semis before downing Sousa on Sunday. The local resident, who rides his bike to the site all week during the tournament, previously lifted the trophy in 2015 (d. Mathieu).

“It was an amazing week for me,” said Kohlschreiber. “I never expected to win this title when the tournament started. I really enjoy playing here, it is such a nice event. Everyone is doing a great job and the crowd loves to come here.

“I started to play more aggressive and offensive tennis. He is a very good mover on the court. He’s a great fighter and takes the ball early, so I tried to play faster and more aggressive. I was also very focused in the crucial moments and the two breaks I made was at 30/0 up for him.”

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, in the shadow of the famous Hahnenkamm Mountain in the Austrian Alps, Kohlschreiber would rally from a break down in both sets to overcome Sousa. A chipped forehand that landed wide gave the Portuguese the initial break for 2-1 in the first set, but his German opponent stormed back to snatch the opener, reeling five of the next six games.

Sousa was once again on the front foot in the second set, edging ahead 3-1, but could not maintain the advantage, as Kohlschreiber broke back immediately and cruised to the finish line. He would take his first championship point as a Sousa backhand sailed wide.

It marked the fourth consecutive year in which Kohlschreiber has won an ATP World Tour title. He earns €85,945 in prize money and 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points, rising a projected 10 spots to World No. 37. Following two defeats to open their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, Kohlschreiber has rebounded to draw level with Sousa at 2-2. He most recently earned a three-set win at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle last month.

Sousa, meanwhile, takes home €45,265  in prize money and 150 Emirates ATP Rankings points for reaching his ninth ATP World Tour final. The 28 year old was bidding for his third title and first since 2015, when he triumphed in Valencia.

“Even if I lost today it was a great week,” said Sousa. “I haven’t been playing that well for a while, so I’m very happy with how I played here in Kitzbühel. Philipp was the better man today and deserves to win the title. He played great tennis.”

#NextGenATP Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis continued his remarkable run this week by reaching his first ATP World Tour singles final on Friday at Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex, rallying to defeat top seed Tomas Berdych in Los Cabos 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.

“I showed some glimpses of good tennis this year, so to do that consistently this week in Los Cabos means a lot,” said Kokkinakis. “I’ve had great support from the fans here all week. I love it here and I’ll definitely be coming back a few more times.”

The 21-year-old was sidelined from singles competition for 18 months with a laundry list of injuries, but returned to singles action this past May. In just his fourth tournament back, he defeated Milos Raonic at the Aegon Championships. Kokkinakis is currently No. 454 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after six tournaments, but will move to around No. 225 when the newest standings are released on Monday. A win in the final will put him around No. 165.

Berdych grabbed the lone break of the opening set at 4-3, but Kokkinakis regrouped in the second set by storming to a 6/2 lead in the tie-break before eventually forcing a decider. The Aussie led by 5-2 in the final set, but nerves began to take over trying to close out the match. He dropped his serve and squandered four match points, but ultimately regrouped to prevail in two hours and 18 minutes.

Kokkinakis celebrated the milestone moment by holding an impromptu autograph session to thank the fans in Los Cabos for their support all week.

Standing between Kokkinakis and the title is second seed Sam Querrey, who defeated Damir Dzumhur 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a match that ended well after midnight. Querrey is enjoying an outstanding run of form that recently saw him defeat World No. 1 Andy Murray to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals. The American has already enjoyed success in Mexico this year by defeating Rafael Nadal this past March in the Acapulco final.  

“I’m going to move here,” joked Querrey. “I really love this tournament and hope I can win both tournaments in Mexico this year.”

Querrey won his lone FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting with Kokkinakis at the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open, but said the rising Aussie is a different player compared to the one he faced two years ago.

“He’s obviously playing much better now. He’s hitting his forehand big and played really well against Berdych,” said Querrey. “He’s playing loose and tournaments don’t get any easier from here, so it’s going to be a tough match.”

Cabal/Huey Move Into Doubles Final

Second seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Treat Huey outlasted fourth seeds Purav Raja and Divij Sharan 3-6, 6-4, 10-7 to move into Saturday’s final. Cabal/Huey will take on Sergio Galdos and Roberto Maytin, who upset third seeds Marc Lopez and David Marrero 6-3, 2-6, 11-9.