Australian Bernard Tomic booked his place in the final of the Mexico Open after he overcame Alexandr Dolgopolov 1-6 6-4 6-3.

Tomic was forced to work hard early on and was a distinct second best as he dropped serve on three occasions to allow his opponent to take the first set.

However, he showed the necessary improvements in his game, digging deep to win the next two sets and reach his fifth ATP Tour final.

He has enjoyed a decent start to 2016 after reaching the semi-finals in Brisbane and the last 16 of the Australian Open. The 23-year-old has also reached the quarter-finals in two other ATP events and was relieved to come through a tough encounter.

“I am very happy to be in the final now,” Tomic said.

“He is very tough. You just have to stay with him in the match. His level of play was too good in the first set. So I knew I had to stay with him and take advantage of my opportunities.”

Tomic will now face Dominic Thiem in the final after he cruised past Sam Querrey 6-2 6-2 in the other semi-final.

Sunday’s meeting will be the first ever between the pair but Thiem, who is at a career high 15th in the world is the favourite.

Tomic is currently available at odds of 2.50 with Dafabet, while Thiem is priced at 1.50 to secure a victory and continue his fine start to 2016.