Kyrgios beats Ferrer, to face Dimitrov in final

Australia's Nick Kyrgios, ranked 23 in the world, on Saturday defeated Spain's David Ferrer 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) and booked a place in the final of the ATP Masters 1000 event here.

Kyrgios will now face 26-year-old Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, the tournament's seventh seed who defeated American John Isner, seeded 14th, in straight sets 7-6 (4), 7-6 (10) in the other semifinal, reports Efe.

The match between Dimitrov and Kyrgios, 22, will be their second face-off as professionals, after the first one was won by the Bulgarian at the Indian Wells Masters in 2015.

As was the case in Kyrgios' quarter-final victory over Rafael Nadal (6-2, 7-5), the Australian's service once played a crucial role in the game against Ferrer, which lasted two hours and four minutes.

Kyrgios fired 14 aces and committed four double faults, compared to Ferrer's just one single ace and five double faults.

This was the Australian's first victory over Ferrer, who had won their earlier meeting in the first round of the US Open in 2015.

Kyrgios said it was a tough match and he was glad to reach his first final of the season so far and that he would put in everything to win it.

The face-off between Kyrgios and Dimitrov will make it the first final in a Masters 1000 event that will not feature the top four players in the ATP rankings since Paris 2012, which was won by Ferrer.

Dimitrov, like Kyrgios, is set to play his first final at a Masters 1000 event, which is expected to be another exhibition of new talent on the ATP circuit.

--IANS

gau/mr