Wolf Powers Into Florence Final

American J.J. Wolf has charged into his first ATP Tour final after a power-hitting 6-4 6-4 win over Swedish qualifier Mikael Ymer at the UniCredit Firenze Open in Florence.

Rising to a career-best No. 56 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, the 23-year-old will play the winner of top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and third-seeded home favourite Lorenzo Musetti.

“I definitely had to keep my nerve and wait for my chance,” Wolf said. “He’s sneaky aggressive and can turn defense into offense in a second. I’m not sure what to expect tomorrow as I haven’t been in a final before. I’m just going to keep working on the things I’ve been working on and not worry about the result.”

Wolf, who upset fourth-seeded countryman Maxime Cressy in the second round and seventh seed Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals, improved to 16-16 on the year.

Wolf began the year ranked outside the Top 150.