Grigor Dimitrov and Nick Kyrgios will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they battle for the Western & Southern Open title on Sunday. Their only previous encounter came two years ago on the hard courts of Indian Wells, where Dimitrov prevailed 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(4).
Kyrgios served for that match at 6-5 in the third only to see a sprained ankle suffered late in the contest prevent him from sealing the deal. A hip injury is what has held the 22-year-old Australian back in 2017, but he has still been good enough to earn a provisional top-eight spot for the World Tour Finals if he lifts the trophy in Cincinnati. Kyrgios is one win away from that accomplishment following defeats of David Goffin, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Ivo Karlovic, Rafael Nadal, and David Ferrer.
“I’m going to go out there and compete and try to serve big and play big,” the world No. 23 commented. “Whatever happens, happens.”
John Isner served big against Dimitrov on Saturday, but not big enough. In fact, there was not single break of serve in either of the two matches–both of which resulted in a pair of tiebreakers. The 11th-ranked Bulgarian held off Isner 7-6(4), 7-6(10) after two hours and three minutes. He preceded that victory by taking out Feliciano Lopez, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Yuichi Sugita all in straight sets.
Dimitrov has not yet surrendered a set this week and he is now 13-5 lifetime in Cincinnati with a semifinal showing last summer. The seventh seed is supremely confident at this tournament and in what is likely to be a competitive contest, he is more reliable than Kyrgios to hold up physically.
Pick: Dimitrov in 3
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