David Ferrer went out on Saturday to Nick Kyrgios in a 2017 Cincinnati Masters semifinal. As Ferrer went out so went out the last player in the men's singles draw this season to have ever won a Masters Series event. The final will now feature Grigor Dimitrov against Nick Kyrgios, two underachievers on the ATP Tour. The winner will emerge on Sunday evening with a maiden title at the 1000 level on tour.
Dimitrov could silence some critics
When it comes to underachieving, Dimitrov is certainly the player that should draw heavier criticism relative to Kyrgios.
Dimitrov has been on the tour for ages now and there was a time very early in his career when he was tipped for the top. He may still get there as the Big Four age, but Dimitrov himself is 26 years old. He's part of group of players that are about his age never to have won a Masters Series title or Grand Slam (Alexander Zverev is much younger than Dimitrov). With Kyrgios there are certainly some bad losses in his career, but he could still be viewed as up and coming to a degree as he is just 22 years old.
The two players enter Sunday's final having not played one another all too often.The Bulgarian Dimitrov does own the victory from their only previous head-to-head meeting at the tour level.
Dimitrov defeated Kyrgios in a somewhat similar situation as Cincinnati from some points of view. The two players met in a hard-court Masters Series match from the USA a couple pf years ago. But that was a round-of-64 match while Sunday's match will be a final. That's what makes their upcoming contest entirely different than the one they had before.
Both players will be nervous?
While neither player has a Masters Series title, it's true that neither has ever even played in the final of such a tournament. While each might be nervous heading into the biggest non-Grand Slam match of their careers, it's also true that the nerves may offset one another. Dimitrov has closed out more tournaments in his career as he owns six ATP titles.
Furthermore, the Bulgarian has two this season, one from Brisbane and one from Sofia.
It will be interesting to see which player enjoys the support of the home crowd on Sunday. Dimitrov did knock out American John Isner but Kyrgios isn't always the most endearing individual on tour. There will be a lot of tennis fans that won't want to see him claim a big title. The same sentiment isn't common with the Bulgarian.
Although only Rafael Nadal was in the field among the Big Four, the winner of Sunday's final will still claim 1000 ranking points. Furthermore, he will still get the confidence of knowing that he has an exclusive title that many other accomplished players have never been able to win.
None of Milos Raonic, David Goffin, Kei Nishikori, nor Juan Martin del Potro have ever won a Masters Series event. In regard to the latter, del Potro does have a Grand Slam, but the 1000-series has eluded him thus far. Both Dimitrov and Kyrgios will feel up for this match, you would think both would have some nerves, but you would also think both would be happy to be playing an inexperienced player as well. The order of play makes this a match for not before 4pm on Sunday, local time in Cincinnati.