Nick Kyrgios is on his way to building something really special in Cincinnati. He will take on Grigor Dimitrov, another pleasant surprise of this event, for his first Masters 1000 title. At 22 years of age and in an uncertain landscape, Kyrgios' time may be just now. On the other side, the 26-year-old Bulgarian tennis star is also into his first final of this kind.
A thin main draw at the start of the week has created some great opportunities for others and Kyrgios or Dimitrov will be there to cash it in. Their head to head status may be less important having Dimitrov as the winner of their first and only match-up back in 2015 in the round of 64 at Indian Wells.
The men's semis delivered some high-quality and even edgy tennis as both matches had all their chapter decided on a tie-break.
Grigor Dimitrov slides past John Isner
Entering his semifinal match. Isner was leading Dimitrov by 1-0 in head to head stats. The seventh seed Dimitrov was determined to make no mistakes as his week had been solid in Cincinnati. Without dropping a set en route to the semis, he was able to keep a clean sheet at the end of Isner test. The American pushed him into two tie-breaks and even had set points of his own. With both competitors being on a good day, there was no room for errors. Thus, there was not a single break of serve throughout the match and Isner saw his work being reduced to nothing in two tie-breaks.
The first set breaker went pretty smooth in Dimitrov's pocket but the second drama had some serious drama attached to it. Isner missed three distinct opportunities to push the encounter into a decisive set and then Dimitrov sealed his spot in the final.
Nick Kyrgios confirms his good form, knocks down another Spaniard
The Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati saw Nadal in a good position to clinch another Masters 1000 ( the third in 2017).
But, the soon to be the world No. 1 went on losing to Nick Kyrgios in the last eight stages. The 22-year-old Aussie was eager to prove that there was no one-time-wonder and it went solidly against David Ferrer.
The 35-year-old Spaniard did an excellent job throughout the whole week and against Kyrgios he came pretty close to another stunning result.
But, with each day that passes by, the Aussie star is becoming a more mature tennis player able to keep his focus in the right place. There two tie-breaks two as the grading tools of an edgy encounter. Thus, with Dimitrov and Kyrgios in their first-ever Masters 1000 final, the men's tennis seems to have found something to work with in the absence of its giants.
