Taylor Fritz is into the final in Lyon. The second-seeded American beat close friend Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-5 in Saturday's semifinal in about an hour and 40 minutes.

His serve did the heavy lifting. Fritz hit 15 aces, held in all 11 of his service games and saved all nine break points he faced.

The biggest test came late in the second set. Serving at 4-5, Fritz faced three set points and wiped them out with two aces and a service winner. He broke Paul in the next game for a 6-5 lead and closed out the match with his 15th ace.

Friends and rivals

The two Americans go back to their junior days and practice together often. Fritz now leads their head-to-head 4-3. Paul had reached the semifinals by beating Corentin Moutet in three sets on Friday.

"We know each other's games so well. We practice all the time," Fritz said. "No one's ever won two matches in a row. He won the last time, so it was my turn."

Chasing Turin

Both men came to Lyon chasing a spot at the ATP Finals in Turin. The win moved Fritz past Paul into 12th in the live race. He is 464 points behind ninth-place Rafael Jodar, who holds the last qualifying spot for now.

It is Fritz's fifth tour-level final of the season. He will face Lorenzo Musetti, who beat top seed Flavio Cobolli 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, in Sunday's title match.