OMNISPORT

Nick Kyrgios reached his first ATP 1000 final after a hard-fought straight-sets win over David Ferrer at the Western and Southern Open on Saturday.

The Australian, coming off a stunning upset win over Rafael Nadal, was too good for another Spaniard, beating Ferrer 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) in Cincinnati.

The semi-final win saw Kyrgios advance to a fifth ATP final but first at Masters level, setting up a blockbuster clash against Grigor Dimitrov.

Kyrgios, 22, won three titles last year but is searching for his first of 2017, and his only previous meeting with Dimitrov resulted in defeat at Indian Wells two years ago.

Ferrer and Kyrgios both struggled to create chances against serve in the opening set, which always looked headed for a tie-break.

It was 2014 runner-up Ferrer who faltered first in the tie-break, the 35-year-old's double fault at 2-1 down creating the opening Kyrgios needed and he converted with a forehand winner to take the set.

Ferrer got out of a 15-40 hole in the fourth game of the second set and Kyrgios did likewise in the fifth, the Australian saving three break points – including one with a brilliant and brave drop shot.

Both players otherwise held serve with relative ease, until Ferrer needed to save a match point to get to 5-5.

With his booming serve, Kyrgios was once again favoured in the tie-break, and he closed out a big win.