Daniel Merida joined elite company at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Friday, when he produced a composed performance to sink Roman Andres Burruchaga 6-4, 6-2 to advance to his second ATP Tour final.

With the victory, the 21-year-old became the third-youngest Umag finalist this decade, following Carlos Alcaraz (18 years 2 months in 2021 and 19 years 2 months in 2022) and Jannik Sinner (20 years 10 months). Merida, who upset third seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the second round, is yet to drop a set this week.

"I'm feeling really good all week," Merida said. "I think I am playing my best tennis, so I am super happy with my performance here and I hope to give my 100 per cent in the final... Alcaraz and Sinner are two big names, so I am super happy to be in that group of players."

Competing in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Burruchaga, who stunned top seed Flavio Cobolli in the second round, Merida maintained the upper hand as Burruchaga struggled with errors. The Spaniard remained solid on serve throughout, having won 71 per cent (25/35) of his first-serve points and saved three of the four break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Earlier this year, Merida reached his first tour-level final in Bucharest, where the 21-year-old arrived without a tour-level victory. Since that final run, the Spaniard has reached the third round at the ATP Masters 1000 event on home soil in Madrid and the title match at the ATP Challenger event in Perugia.

Playing in just his seventh tour-level event, now the 21-year-old will have another chance at going for his first tour-level title on Saturday when he faces Damir Dzumhur in the championship match.

Dzumhur earned another marathon victory late Friday night when the 34-year-old rallied past Alex Molcan 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 44 minutes to book his final spot. On Thursday, the 34-year-old upset fourth seed Matteo Arnaldi in 3 hours and 42 minutes and recovered to continue his Umag run.

With his semi-final victory, the Bosnian star advanced to his maiden ATP Tour final since Antalya in 2018 and first on a clay court.

"I am 34 years old but never played a final on clay, and it is the surface where I grew up playing," Dzumhur said. "I was expecting it earlier, but it is a nice feeling. I'm out of words after yesterday's match... But I recovered well, and as the match went on, I got better and better."

Watch highlights from Dzumhur's semi-final win in Umag