<p>PARMA, Italy — Sebastian Korda beat sixth-seeded Tommy Paul in an all-American semifinal at the Emilia-Romagna Open on Friday to reach his first ATP final.</p>
<p>The 63rd-ranked Korda won 6-3, 6-3 in 82 minutes to book a spot against Italian wild card Marco Cecchinato.</p>
<p>Korda broke four times and fended off eight of nine break points on his serve.</p>
<p>Korda also beat Paul in Delray Beach in January in their only other meeting.</p>
<p>In the earlier semifinal, Cecchinato recovered from a second-set setback to prevail over Jaume Munar of Spain 7-6 (2), 1-6, 6-1 after more than 2 1/2 hours.</p>
<p>The 104th-ranked Cecchinato also had to save a set point on his serve at 5-3 down in the opener, then broke back and eventually took the set to the tiebreak.</p>
<p>“All the points were hard but I was always focused, in particular on my serve,” Cecchinato said. "At the beginning I didn’t have good sensations but then I improved.</p>
<p>“The third set finished 6-1 but the scoreboard is certainly a liar, it was a hard battle right to the end."</p>
<p>Cecchinato is going for his fourth career ATP singles title, all on clay, and first since 2019.</p>
<p>___ </p>
<p>More AP tennis: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/tennis">https://apnews.com/hub/tennis</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a></p>
