Arthur Fils booked his place in the final of the Cincinnati Masters on Saturday with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 victory over Flavio Cobolli in a semi-final delayed by 45 minutes due to rain and lightning.

The 22-year-old Frenchman has reached his first-ever Masters 1000 final and will face the winner of the all-American semi-final between Brandon Nakashima and Frances Tiafoe.

Fils also extended his head-to-head advantage over Cobolli, defeating the Italian for the third time in their career meetings. The result made him the youngest French player to reach a Masters final since a 20-year-old Richard Gasquet achieved the feat in Toronto two decades ago.

Cobolli made the stronger start, breaking Fils to take a 2-1 lead after the Frenchman committed a double fault. However, Fils responded immediately, breaking back to love to level the opening set at 2-2.

The Frenchman then stepped up the pressure late in the set, breaking Cobolli again to move 5-3 ahead. He held his serve in the following game, sealing the opening set with a well-placed winner after just 25 minutes.

Fils carried his momentum into the second set, breaking at the start as his intensity continued to rise.

The Frenchman remained composed on serve before completing the victory with a powerful forehand winner into the corner, sending him into his maiden Masters 1000 final.

With another major milestone secured, Fils will now await his opponent as he bids for his biggest title yet in Cincinnati.