Alexander Blockx rallied from the brink of defeat to best Luciano Darderi and reach the final of the Estoril Open in three sets.

Blockx will play in his first ATP-level final on Sunday after securing a 5-7 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-5) victory in two hours and 47 minutes.

The Belgian started the match with a break to love, but neither player could gain a true foothold in a first set that saw seven breaks in serve.

Blockx had taken a 5-4 lead, but Darderi finished the set with a three-game winning streak, eventually converting his third set point.

Darderi then looked set to run away with the contest after racing into a 4-1 lead in the second set, but Blockx dug deep and got the vital break in the ninth game before making light work of the tie-break.

The Italian started the decider with a break that was then cancelled out in the eighth game, though Blockx then had to defend two break points in the following game.

The pair needed another breaker to settle the tie, and after Darderi reeled off the first four points, he looked comfortable even after having his lead cut to 5-3.

Blockx finished the match by winning each of the last four points, though, and he has set up a meeting with Luca Van Assche, who came out on top in an all-French semi-final against Hugo Gaston earlier in the day. 

Van Assche, who stunned top seed Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals, reached his first ATP Tour-level final with a 6-4 7-5 victory in one hour and 57 minutes. 

A day of firsts

Blockx is the first Belgian finalist in the history of the Estoril Open, and he has the chance to lift his first ATP Tour-level trophy on Sunday, just like his opponent.

But Blockx, at 21 years old, is also the youngest finalist at the tournament this decade and the fourth-youngest in event history.

He enjoys playing on clay, having also reached the semi-final of the Madrid Open earlier this year, his previous best result on the ATP Tour.

Van Assche, meanwhile, now has the chance to become the first Frenchman to win the tournament since Richard Gasquet, who downed Nick Kyrgios in the inaugural edition of the competition in 2015.