Sunday 20 August 2017

Kyrgios v Dimitrov - new territory

Cincinnati semi finals have been played and the men's were the matches in which to be engrossed.

First up Grigor Dimitrov (7) battled John Isner (14) and there were no breaks of serve in the match.

Dimitrov managed to edge out the American in the opening set tie break 7-4 to take the lead.

The statistics reflected the close contest, especially points won on serve and return - virtually nothing to separate the two.


Set two continued the solid serving, only one break point created for Dimitrov but promptly saved by Isner.

The tie break was a lengthier affair but again the Bulgarian outlasted Isner 14-12.


John Isner failed to make the final, yet did not drop serve for the entire tournament.  That is the one failure of the tie break - it can be a lottery.


Two tie breaks were also required in the second semi final where David Ferrer served it up to Nadal conquerer Nick Kyrgios.  The Australian didn't jump to an early advantage as he had against Rafa - in fact was playing catch up for all of the opening set.


No break points for either player but Kyrgios took control in the tie break 7-3, his forehand overwhelming the Spaniard.


Kyrgios serving first in the second set, most pressure reverted to Ferrer, but he responded well, again refusing to drop serve.  Both saved three break points and Ferrer served well to force a second tie break.


Once more Kyrgios raced to three set and match points.  Ferrer saved one with a brilliant winner, but an unforced error when serving at 4-6 sent Kyrgios into the Masters 1000 final with Dimitrov, a class of tournament final where neither has been before,


A chance for Kyrgios to jump into the top 12 and a big seeding boost for the US Open, considering he entered Cincinnati ranked 23. 

Dimitrov has moved back into the top ten and will be ranked 9 irrespective of the final result.


The women's semi final results were both comprehensive.


Garbine Muguruza knocked out world number one Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-2.

Converting four of an incredible fourteen break points and saving three on her own serve, Muguruza completely dominated a previously impressive Pliskova.

The Czech star appeared tired, possibly due to the two matches required of her the previous day.


Simona Halep will contest Muguruza in the final, after thrashing Sloane Stephens 6-2 6-1.  The Romanian second seed now has the chance to jump to the world number one ranking should she capture the title.

Again Stephens was under the pump thanks to her playing two matches the previous day.

However she was never going to compete with Halep in this form.

Facing no break points but converting five of nine created on the American serve, Halep devoured the second delivery, winning 10 of 11 points.


The final will see the two form players of the tournament and should be a ripper.

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