Sofia Open: Qualifier Mirza Basic shocks Stan Wawrinka to reach maiden final, set to meet Marius Copil

Sofia: Bosnian qualifier Mirza Basic bludgeoned his way to a shock 7-6(6), 6-4 victory over top seed Stan Wawrinka to set up an intriguing title clash against big-serving Romanian Marius Copil as the two players reached their maiden ATP final. Wawrinka, looking to play himself back into form after a long layoff due to a knee surgery, saved two set points in the opening tiebreak but Basic won it with a thundering serve that gave the 32-year-old Swiss no chance. [caption id=“attachment_4345975” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Mirza Basic celebrates after defeating Stan Wawrinka in the semi-final. Iage courtesy: Twitter/@SofiaOpen [/caption] The aggressive Bosnian, playing his sixth match this week, showed no nerves in the second set, sending fizzing forehands across court and down the lines beyond Wawrinka. “It’s a big win for me but there’s one more game and now I have to focus on the final,” 26-year-old Basic said in a courtside interview after his first victory over a player ranked among the top 20 in the world. Basic will face world number 93 Copil in the final in Armeets Arena on Sunday. The Romanian put on a clinical display to power past Slovakian qualifier Jozef Kovalik 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 34 minutes and also reached his maiden ATP final. “After Australia, where I lost in the first round, I was very disappointed. I went back home and I had two weeks of very hard practices. I practiced a lot, especially my serve,” the 27-year-old Copil said after his fourth consecutive straight-sets win in Sofia. “Not losing a set here gives me a lot of confidence.”