Washington, Aug 7: Nick Kyrgios found the consistency that has long eluded him, reaching a second consecutive tournament final for the first time in his career with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over Mikael Ymer at the Citi Open on Saturday night.
Kyrgios, the runner-up at Wimbledon to Novak Djokovic, has adjusted well to the hot, humid conditions at this hard-court U.S. Open tuneup. He won an uncharacteristic 24-shot rally on Ymer’s serve to go ahead 5-4 in the first-set tiebreak and served it out from there.
In the second set, Krygios secured the only service break of the match on a cross-court half-volley to move ahead 5-3. “He’s an incredible athlete and I really wasn’t expecting him to be that fast,” Kyrgios said.
In the final, Kyrgios will face a surprising opponent in 96th-ranked Yoshihito Nishioka, who ousted top-seeded and eighth-ranked Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4.
Earlier in the women’s draw, Kaia Kanepi moved within one victory of her first title in nine years, beating Daria Saville 6-3, 6-1. (AP)
