Zverev saved all five break points and fired nine aces in a 6-3, 7-6(2) semifinal win on Monday against No. 3 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria. Zverev is chasing his first hard-court title since the Nitto ATP Finals in November 2021.
Standing in the way is Safiullin, who reached the final of the ATP 250 event with a 6-3, 6-4 upset against No. 2 seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy. Safiullin struck nine aces and never faced a break point in the 89-minute match.
Zhuhai Championships
No. 1 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia halted a dubious semifinal streak and will take on eighth-seeded Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan for the ATP 250 hard-court title in Zhuhai, China.
Khachanov's 7-5, 6-4 defeat of No. 4 seed Sebastian Korda ended his five-match semifinal skid, putting him in his first final since Adelaide in January 2022. He won 83 percent of his first-service points (30 of 36) against Korda.
Nishioka advanced Monday with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Russia's Aslan Karatsev. Karatsev finished with a 29-8 edge in winners but also committed 20 unforced errors to Nishioka's five.