Stefanos Tsitsipas booked his first ATP Tour final appearance in 17 months by defeating Aleksandr Shevchenko in the last four of the Gstaad Open on Saturday.

Tsitsipas – who has not appeared in a showpiece match since winning the Dubai Tennis Championships in February 2025 – outlasted Shevchenko for a 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory.

The former world number three only dropped one point on serve in the opening set – with none of those coming in his first four service games – though he then endured a wobble in the second.

Shevchenko converted his third break point in game four, then held firm on his own serve to tee up a decider, though Tsitsipas soon rediscovered his form.

The Greek got the all-important break seven games into the third set, later converting his first match point with a downward smash at the net.

In his on-court interview afterwards, he said: "It was a great fight against Aleksandr. I think we played an incredible match from both sides. 

"It's unfortunate there had to be a winner at the end. I thought both of us deserved the victory."

Tsitsipas will face Belgium's Raphael Collignon in Sunday's final, after he saved match point en route to a 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 win over Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

Collignon has never previously appeared in a Tour-level final, but Tsitsipas expects a difficult match when they face off for the trophy in Switzerland.

"We've both had long matches. We both really want it," Tsitsipas said. "We've come to the end, the two of us, so I feel like no one wants to go out there and not give it their all. It's one last breath. I want to get out there and take the court by storm."

Tsitsipas marks best run of 2026

Since he last appeared in an ATP Tour final last February, Tsitsipas has failed to go beyond the second round at six straight grand slams (one first-round loss, five in the second round), most recently going down to Novak Djokovic in straight sets at Wimbledon.

And though this tournament may only be an ATP 250 event, reaching the showpiece could be an important marker for the 27-year-old. 

It will be the first time he has gone beyond a fourth match at any competition this year (he played matches at the Madrid Open, losing in the last 16 to Casper Ruud).

Tsitsipas is now eyeing a 13th Tour-level title, having lost 18 of his previous 30 finals. Collignon, meanwhile, is just the second Belgian to reach the Gstaad Open final, after David Goffin in 2015.