Despite playing two games Friday, Nick Kyrgios still cruised past soon-to-be world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, 6-2, 7-5, to reach the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. With the 80-minute win, Kyrgios reached his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semifinal of the year. He also booked his 100th tour-level victory. Seven hours earlier, Kyrgios rallied past Ivo Karlovic, 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3, to finish their rain-delayed third round showdown.
With Nadal out, this will be the first time since 2012 that neither Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray made it to the semifinal of a Masters 1000 event.
Kyrgios clinched 10 of the first 11 points for a 3-0 lead before taking the second set in just 25 minutes. In the second set, Kyrgios took a 3-2 advantage but Nadal tied the count at 5-all by fighting off a pair of match points. However, Kyrgios responded by breaking Nadal’s serve and served out the win with his 10th ace of the match.
Kyrgios to play Ferrer in semifinals
For a spot in the finals, Kyrgios will face David Ferrer, who returned to the semifinal of a Masters 1000 event after a two-year drought via a 6-3, 6-3 win over third seed Dominic Thiem. This was Ferrer’s first Top 10 win since 2015 when he defeated Marin Cilic at Roland Garros. The win placed Ferrer into the Cincinnati semis for the second time in four years, improving his record to 21-12 at this hard-court event.
The 35-year-old Ferrer also made it to the semifinal of an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament since the 2015 Rolex Paris Masters. Ferrer fell to as low as No. 46 early this year but his resurgence will bring him back to the Top 25 when the ATP releases its latest rankings Monday.
Grigor Dimitrov to face John Isner in other semis
Grigor Dimitrov moved one win away from his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final via an impressive 6-2, 6-1 win over Yuichi Sugita of Japan. This was Dimitrov’s fourth semifinal appearance at the ATP World Tour’s premier tournament level but has failed to reach the finals.
Dimitrov broke Sugita at the start of the second set en route to a 3-0 lead. He then broke Sugita twice in the second set for a 5-0 lead and was never challenged as he cruised to win in just 52 minutes. In the semifinals, Dimitrov will play American John Isner, who defeated countryman Jared Donaldson, 7-6(4), 7-5 in one hour and 30 minutes. Isner hit 25 aces and won 90 percent of his first-serve points. In their only showdown, Isner defeated Dimitrov in the second round of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Miami in 2015.
