French wild card Mpetshi Perricard reaches first ATP Tour final in Lyon

French wild card Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard continued his dream run on Friday at the Open Parc where he overcame second seed Alexander Bublik 6-4, 7-5 to reach his first ATP Tour final in Lyon.

In front of a lively home crowd, the 6’8” 20-year-old played big-man tennis to earn his first Top 20 win. Mpetshi Perricard clubbed 28 winners and won 85 per cent (34/40) of his first-serve points to triumph after 76 minutes.

"It is amazing to be in the final here in Lyon," Mpetshi Perricard said. "The tournament is not over. I have one match left and will do my best to win that match."

Mpetshi Perricard arrived at the clay-court ATP 250 event at No. 117 in the PIF ATP Rankings and is the lowest-ranked finalist in tournament history. The Lyon native is up 34 spots to No. 83 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Saturday's title match.

Mpetshi Perricard won three ATP Challenger Tour titles earlier this season and has performed impressively on his tournament debut in Lyon, also defeating Lorenzo Sonego and Hugo Gaston.

"I wasn't very confident ahead of my first match, but I managed to [get through]. Each match was a new moment for me. I have done very well since the beginning. I am very happy to play this level in the semi-final."

Earlier, Etcheverry overcame Italian Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-4 to reach his third ATP Tour final.

The Argentine won 83 per cent (25/30) of his first-serve points and saved all three break points he faced according to Infosys ATP Stats to earn his 50th tour-level win.

The sixth seed will aim to win his first tour-level title in Sunday's final. Last season Etcheverry advanced to championship matches on clay in Santiago and Houston.

In doubles action, Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti upset top seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-7 to reach the final. The Indian-French team will face Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten on Saturday.