Muguruza, Kyrgios advance to final
CINCINNATI: Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza will face second seed Simona Halep in the final of the Cincinnati Open on Sunday. Muguruza trounced topranked defending champion Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-2. With the win, the 23-year-old snapped a six-match losing streak against the current world No. 1, and reached her first final since Wimbledon last month. On the other hand, Halep, a finalist in 2015 and a semifinalist here last year, comfortably dismissed Sloane Stephens 6-2 6-1 in just 54 minutes. The win has now given her a shot at becoming the first Romanian champion in Cincinnati since Magda Rurac won in 1949.
KYRGIOS, DIMITROV THROUGH TO FINAL
Meanwhile, in the men’s event, Grigor Dimitrov will be playing in his first W&S final after he defeated John Isner 7-6 (4), 7-6 (10) in the first men’s semifinal.
Eleventh-ranked Dimitrov,
who lost in the last year’s semifinal to eventual champion Marin Cilic, will face Australian Nick Kyrgios, who knocked out David Ferrer 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4).
Dimitrov has won his only previous meeting against Kyrgios, taking out the 22-year-old in a third-set tiebreak at Indian
Wells in 2015.
Kyrgios, currently ranked No. 23 in the world, pulled out of three straight tournaments this summer due to hip and shoulder injuries, finally notching two morale-boosting victories last week in Toronto before falling in the round of 16.