WIESBADEN, Germany — The boys’ top seed at this year’s DODEA-Europe tennis championships, Matthew Suber of Stuttgart, booked his place in Saturday’s final with a hard-fought win over second seed Michael Gillett of Vicenza, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.

Suber dropped the first set of the pair’s semifinal encounter at the T2 Sports Health Club in Wiesbaden on Friday afternoon. It was the first time the two had played each other.

Gillett, playing with a bandaged knee, kept the pressure on during the second set but fell short, with Suber winning it in a tiebreak.

In the decider, Suber’s powerful serve and groundstrokes were on full display as he hit winner after winner, breaking Gillett’s serve and taking the set, and with it the match.

“It was mainly a mental battle,” Suber, a senior, said after the match. “There were a lot of ups and downs.”

Gillett was in visible pain at times during the match and at one point fell to the court.

“In the second set … I went for a backhand and I heard my knee twist out of place,” he said.

Gillett, a senior and two-time runner-up at the championships, said he was advised to retire from the match but didn’t want to end his high school tennis career that way.

“It’s my last year, I had to show what I got,” he said. “I gave it everything I got, even if I was hurt.”

In Friday’s other semifinal, third seed Jesus Lukas of SHAPE defeated fourth seed Thomas Curci of the American Overseas School of Rome 7-6 (8-6), 6-2.

Curci’s powerful groundstrokes helped him race to a 4-1 lead in the first set, but Lukas adjusted his game and fought back to force a tiebreak. Lukas narrowly won that.

The second set was also a close contest, but Lukas was able to capitalize on more critical points.

“It was probably the most difficult match I ever had, to be honest, it was always close,” Lukas said.

The junior is playing in his first championships and said he learned a lot from Friday’s match.

“Mentally, I was able to come back after going down 1-4, it was a great lesson for me,” he said.

Saturday’s final will be the first meeting between Suber and Lukas.

Boys doubles

The boys’ doubles semifinals saw two three-set thrillers.

Top seeds Erik Findlay and David Spencer of Vicenza came within points of crashing out of the title race against Stuttgart’s Brian Bonanno and Nicholas Prewitt, the second seeds.

The Cougars duo eventually triumphed 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2.

Meanwhile, fourth seeds Leonard Delgato and Gianluca Vacca of AOSR beat SHAPE’s Samuele Scaranaro and Samuel Diez Vega, the fifth seeds, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Saturday’s doubles final will be a rematch of a pool match played Friday, when Delgato and Vacca defeated Findlay and Spencer 9-7 in an eight-game pro set.

Girls singles

Over in the girls’ draw, defending champion and top seed Pennie Wolff of Vilseck made light work of SHAPE’s Agata Fikova, dropping just one game en route to her 6-1, 6-0 semifinal victory.

Wolff, a sophomore, used a variety of shots to keep Fikova guessing.

“She was the best one I played so far,” Wolff said when asked about her opponent. “She is a very consistent player.”

Wolff said she was confident going into the final.

“I’m ready to play tomorrow,” she said. “I’m just focused on winning now.”

Wolff will face second seed Rebekah Francis of Ramstein, who also had a straight-set win Friday, defeating Wiesbaden’s Rinnah Kim 6-4, 6-3.

Francis is a freshman playing in her first championships.

“I’m here to play tennis and have fun,” Francis said when asked about playing in the final. “It would be great if I could win, but my goal is to do the best I can and have fun and play my game.”

Girls doubles

In the girls’ doubles, second seeds Brooke Vinson and Scarlett Hosey of Ramstein knocked out top seeds Viktorija Vilcina and Olivia Perry of SHAPE in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

“It was a hard-fought match, that’s for sure,” Vinson said. “We’re not used to having to play that much, but it was fun.”

The Ramstein duo will face fourth seeds Ema Causevic and Ella Sandoval of Stuttgart in the final. The Stuttgart pair defeated fifth seeds June Fearing and Amma Lombard of Wiesbaden 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in their semifinal match.