Andrey Rublev will progress to the final of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open against Gael Monfils after defeating Guido Pella in a bruising three-set encounter, eventually winning 6-2, 4-6, 7-6. 

Rising Russian star Rublev started on the front foot, and the 20-year old broke his opponent in the first game of the contest, setting the tone for the set to come. A further break on Pella in the seventh game swung the set in favour of Rublev as the ATP Next Gen finalist won the first set 6-2 in just 28 minutes. 

In the second set and Pella who is ranked 64th in the world broke his opponent twice and was growing in confidence. However, Rublev showed his character breaking back twice to level out the set at 4 games each.  In the tenth game, Pella selected his shots perfectly and broke Rublev again to seal a 6-4 second set victory. 

The third set was a drawn-out affair with both competitors battling for every point. In the tenth game, and well over 2 hours into the contest Rublev survived from a match point down in the tenth match, hitting back with an ace. The 20-year-old Russian held on to set up a third set tiebreaker. 

The former junior no 1 Rublev stepped up in the tiebreaker racing into a 4-0 lead. After losing two points to Pella's service Rublev kept his composure smashing a forehand down the line to seal a 7-2 tiebreak victory and set up a debut final against Monfils in his first-ever appearance in Doha.