SOFIA, Bulgaria — Vancouver's Vasek Pospisil advanced to the final of the Sofia Open indoor hardcourt tennis tournament with a 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-0 win over France's Richard Gasquet on Friday.

Pospisil, ranked 74th in the world, won the last 11 games of a match that took around one hour 51 minutes to complete.

"I had some chances in the first set and was holding serve relatively comfortably so I was disappointed to lose that set and just felt like I was lacking a little bit of energy," Pospisil said. "I just raised the intensity in the second set. Early in the second set I tried to pump myself up and as soon as I got the break I felt like his energy dropped and I stayed relatively consistent and aggressive."

The Canadian fired 18 aces past Gasquet as he improved to 4-2 lifetime against the world No. 49.

Pospisil won 77 per cent of service points, compared to 57 per cent for Gasquet. Pospisil saved the only break point he faced while breaking Gasquet five times on seven opportunities.

Pospisil will face 19-year-old Jannik Sinner of Italy on Saturday in the final of the ATP 250 event, with the winner claiming his first ATP Tour title.

"Jannik is a super talented young guy and it’s going to be a really tight match," said Pospisil, who fell in the final round of qualifying at the Paris Masters event last week. "I'm going to go out there and go for the win and play aggressive and try and take my chances. I'm a little bit pleasantly surprised how I finished the year with this tournament."

It will be the third career Tour final appearance for the 30-year-old Pospisil, and the second this year. He also advanced to the final of an indoor hardcourt tournament in Montpelier, France, in February.

"It will definitely help me," Pospisil said of the experience. "I played at a good level and just came up against tough opponent [Gael Monfils] and I think maybe this time around I'll be maybe a little bit more relaxed."

Sinner, the world No. 44, advanced with a 6-3, 7-5 win over fifth-seed Adrian Mannarino of France.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2020.