Tabilo topples Monfils, faces Ofner in Mallorca final

Alejandro Tabilo’s career-best season keeps getting better and better.

The Chilean advanced to his third final of the year Friday when he rallied past Frenchman Gael Monfils 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) at the Mallorca Championships presented by Waterdrop.

The 27-year-old joins Jaime Fillol Sr. as the only Chilean men in the Open Era to reach tour-level finals on clay, grass and hard courts. A champion in Auckland and runner-up in Santiago, Tabilo is the first Chilean to reach three ATP Tour finals in a single season since Cristian Garin in 2019.

“I couldn’t have even imagined the first week of the year, winning my first ATP [title],” Tabilo said. “We are here now and hopefully we can keep going with this level.”

The fourth seed recovered from a slow start, leaning on his serve and forehand to dig him out of trouble. After falling a double break down in the opening set, Tabilo quickly regrouped and did not drop a point behind his first serve in the second set. The lefty frequently moved forward in critical moments, winning 20/26 net points, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I think I started a little nervous, not really intense. I couldn’t find the court,” Tabilo said. “As the first set went on, I started getting a little looser, started hitting the ball [better]. Second set, I knew it was a new match and I had to start all over.”

Up four spots to No. 20 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, Tabilo is set for a new career-high Monday. In Saturday's final he will face Austrian Sebastian Ofner, who defeated British qualifier Paul Jubb 6-4, 7-5. Tabilo is also in the Mallorca doubles final with partner Diego Hidalgo.

Ofner was strong on serve throughout and closed out the match with his 14th and 15th aces. He saved a break point in his final two service games and dropped just four points on his first serve throughout the match.

"I have always played well on grass, so for my first final to come on grass is something special," Ofner said. "It's also the surface on which I qualified for my first Grand Slam at Wimbledon.

"[In the last games] I just wanted to go with power on my first serve because that's the best chance to have no rally. But I played great the last games and happy that I got the win."