Andrey Rublev of Russia beat Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(7), 6-3 on Saturday to set up the ATP Shanghai Masters final with Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, who downed American Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-4.

Rublev had to save a set point before winning the 76-minute opening set, before his long-time friend fought back to take an early 2-0 lead in the second set. He then held off Dimitrov's momentum to break back 2-2, and rallied to success while the 32-year-old veteran ran out of steam. 

"I was definitely happy with my performance today. I was playing well off the ground and serving well," said Rublev after the match. 

"I think I'm off the ground, I'm pretty aggressive, I'm playing well, the serves been helping a lot, as well. So, I think just, you know, obviously pretty happy with the improvements here and just try to keep building on it," he added. 

As a well-rounded player, the 25-year-old will need to battle big-serving Hurkacz, who has produced the most aces this year recorded in the ATP Tour, a total of 872, to add a 15th title in his career, and a 4th in this season. 

Both Rublev and Hurkacz are seeking their 2nd Masters 1000 level title, having won in this year's Monte Carlo Masters and the Miami Open in 2021, respectively, while Sunday's final will break their head-to-head tie of 2-2.

"Hubi (Hurkacz) is a tough player. He has good strokes from baseline. He moves well, really well, especially for his height. He really has good defense game. The serve, one of the best serves on tour, is making him really, really tough player that you need to be all the time super focused," Rublev said referring to his finals' rival after the semifinal match.

While Rublev has further boosted his qualification for the year-ending Finals after Saturday, and will ascend to world No.4 for the first time in his career if he wins the final, Hurkacz is still in the hunt for a berth at the Finals.

Hurkacz will be able to close the gap with 8th-ranked Holger Rune of Denmark down to only 335 points if he can beat Rublev in Shanghai.