On the eve of his re-entry into the world’s top 10, Grigor Dimitrov illustrated his potential as a force in the men’s game with a clinical 6-3, 7-5, win over Nick Kyrgios in the final of the Western and Southern Open.
Battling against the 22-year-old for the biggest title of his career, Dimitrov was not fazed by the significance of the occasion. The Bulgarian dropped only 13 points behind his serve and hit 21 winners. A sharp contrast to Kyrgios, who produced a winner-error count of 21-31.
“I don’t know what to say… thank you for the support… This tournament has been one of my favorites. Every year things seem to be better.” A delighted Dimitrov said during the trophy ceremony.
The clash at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre was a milestone in men’s tennis. Masters 1000 tournaments have largely been dominated by the presence of the ‘big four’ in recent years. So much so that the clash was the first time two debut Masters finalists have faced each other since the 2002 Hamburg Open. It was also the first time in history that two players born in the 1990s have contested the final of a Masters event.
Embarking upon the historic match, it was the serve that proved pivotal. Throughout the week in Cincinnati, both players have won over 95% of their service games (98% for Dimitrov and 95% for Kyrgios).
Dimitrov’s nerves failed to hold him back as he survived some tentative moments during the opening set. At 2-2, back-to-back double faults elevated Kyrgios to his first break point opportunity. The Australian failed to convert due to some sublime defence from his opponent. The following game saw the opposite scenario. Dimitrov’s game plan of keeping the ball low troubled 6’4” Kyrgios, who hit a backhand into the net to reward the Bulgarian a break point chance in his favour. The seventh seed secured the breakthrough with the help of a deep return, for a 4-2 lead. That sole break decided the outcome of the first set as Dimitrov eased the 6-3 lead with a love service game. Prompting a huge celebration from the army of Bulgarian fans in the crowd and leaving Kyrgios pondering his next move.
With the momentum firmly on the side of the world No.11, Kyrgios soon saw the humorous side of the situation. During the early stages of set number two he joked ‘I don’t make returns often’ when a serve by Dimitrov was ruled out by the umpire. He was less friendly when discussing the court officials, who made some questionable calls.
“How many (mistakes) have we had already? How many, too many!” Kyrgios complained to the umpire during one of the changeovers.
Besides the Australian’s vocal outbursts, both players illustrated their best play with the help of some solid serving. Still, it was former Wimbledon semifinalist Dimitrov that had the edge. At 5-5 in the second set, a trio of Kyrgios double faults guided the Bulgarian to the break and moved him to one game away from victory. Serving for the biggest title of his career, Dimitrov surged to 40-15 before a forehand error from Kyrgios secured the title for him.
2017 @CincyTennis champion @GrigorDimitrov with a classy victory speech!#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/oE2Agtnbv4
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 20 August 2017
Kyrgios leads the praise
As chants of ‘Dimitrov’ erupted throughout the stadium, it was almost like he was playing in his native Bulgaria. Even an upbeat Kyrgios joked about the atmosphere before paying his own personal tribute to the new Cincinnati champion.
“I want to congratulate Grigor. It’s great to see him back in top form. I knew you had it in you. A few weeks ago I was down and he had me out on the practice court… Today I felt, ‘I knew this guy is fitter than me.'” Said Kyrgios.
Sunday’s win was Dimitrov’s 24th on a hard-court this season, the highest on the ATP Tour going into the US Open. He will now rise to ninth in the ATP rankings, his best position since September 2014. In the ATP race to London, he now lies in sixth place.
The 26-year-old exits Cincinnati with $954,225 in prize money to mark his first ever Masters title.
