Grigor Dimitrov wrote another exciting page of this summer's ATP tennis circuit. The Bulgarian has won the biggest title of his career, and he did it in style getting past Nick Kyrgios in the men's final. It was the perfect ending to a solid week as the 26-year-old ended the Western & Southern Open bid without dropping a single set. On the other side, Kyrgios can also be proud of his run in Ohio, even though he didn't seem to be perfectly fit during the encounter. Still, the Bulgarian gets all the glory and will enter the US Open Tennis Championships as one of its favorites.
For Kyrgios it's not all dark and gloomy as he did some fine work throughout the last week scoring big wins over Rafael Nadal or David Ferrer.
Dimitrov was the better player, but Kyrgios has some issue with backhand
Entering the encounter, both players had high-expectations from their very first Masters 1000 final. The opening set had a predictable first part with both players settling in and doing their work on their own service games. At 2-2, on Dimitrov's serve, Kyrgios saw a first opening of the match in the shape of a break point. He failed to convert in and in the very next game, he saw his solid serve being broken for the first time giving the Bulgarian just enough to win the set. It ended 6-3 and Kyrgios saw himself forced to try making another comeback.
The second set saw no break opportunities up until the seventh game. The 22-year-old Aussie saved two break points in order to keep his chances alive. but, at 5-5 when it seemed that the set will require a decisive tie-break, Kyrgios made a horrible game. Three double faults in the eleventh game proved to be fatal as the Bulgarian went on serving out the match.
Converting the second match point he had, Dimitrov clinched his first Masters 1000 title and put his name high in the favorites' drawer at US Open. Moreover, he is back inside the top 10 and will be among the first eight seeded players in New York. And that's good news is he aims a deep run at Flushing Meadows.
Kyrgios was a bit under the weather
Nick Kyrgios, this intriguing character of the ATP Tour, didn't produce his best tennis against Grigor Dimitrov. It's a shame, especially after we saw him performing so well against Nadal earlier in the contest. But, his backhand was nowhere near the zone as he went on making a huge pile of unforced errors from that wing. Moreover, his returns were also flattering all over the tennis court. Even when Dimitrov used his second, harmless serve, Kyrgios wasn't able to produce damages. The good news is that the runner-up status in Cincinnati brought him back inside the top 20.
