Muller defeats Comesaña to join Baez in Rio final

After Sebastián Baez's qualification against Camilo Ugo Carabelli earlier in the day, it's time for the second semi-final of the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro.

Alexandre Muller, in confident mood since the start of the year, takes on his third Argentinian player in a row. After Etcheverry and Cerundolo, the Frenchman takes on Francisco Comesaña, who defeated world number 2 Alexander Zverev in the previous round.

Muller has not lost a set on his way to the last four, having ended the hopes of 18-year-old prodigy João Fonseca, fresh from his title triumph in Buenos Aires last week, in the first round. On the other side of the draw, Comesaña defeated Zverev and had previously eliminated Heide and Jarry.

The match was hard-fought and the first set indecisive, with numerous breaks to report. The Argentine took his opponent's serve twice, but the Frenchman didn't panic.

Serving to take the first set at 5-3, Muller saw Comesaña come back to 5-5, but the Frenchman went on to win the last two games of the set.

From then on, both men were generally more at ease on their first serves. Comesaña broke first in the second, but again Muller came back to win the tiebreak. More serene on the important points, the Argentinian pulled level.

Muller then took a definitive lead in the third and final set, settling for a break in the middle of the set to close out the match (7-5, 6-7, 6-3 in almost 3 hours of play) and reach his third career final on the ATP circuit, and second of the season after the Hong Kong final against Kei Nishikori.

If he beats defending champion Baez on Sunday, he will win the biggest title of his career.

Muller could thus win his second title of the season, confirming the thunderous start made by French players on the ATP circuit.

Should Muller succeed in the Brazilian city, it would be the fourth title won by a Frenchman in 2025, following Alexandre Muller himself in Hong Kong, Gaël Monfils in Auckland and Ugo Humbert in Marseille.