Kyrgios gets the better of Dimitrov

 

Originally published on 06/01/18 00:00

The Australian No.1 recorded a 3-6 6-1 6-4 victory over the defending champion in an entertaining affair played in front of a capacity crowd inside the Pat Rafter arena.

Kyrgios’ temperament is often called into question, particularly when he falls behind, but his latest success is the third time in a row he has rallied from a set down and emerged the winner.

"I hadn't beaten him [Dimitrov] before,” said Kyrgios. “Going into today, I knew that I was going to do something a little different. I was going to kind of just not give him too much rhythm. Come in a lot, be super aggressive off my returns and just serve pretty much anywhere."

"He played a pretty solid first set. I played a pretty loose game to get broken – and pretty much from then on, I felt pretty in control of the match."

Kyrgios, the first Aussie to reach the final in Brisbane since Lleyton Hewitt in 2014, will go in search of a first title in 15 months on Sunday.

In the first semi-final, Ryan Harrison crushed any hopes of an all-Australian championship match by defeating Alex de Minaur 4-6 7-6(5) 6-4 in a bruising encounter.

The American recovered from a precarious position in the second set tiebreak before denying his youthful opponent in a tense decider. “This year, I want to leave it all on the court every time I play. I feel like if I do that, I'll be improving,” said Harrison, now bidding for a second ATP title.

“I didn't have a whole lot of pressure on myself. I was just trying to play as hard as I could and I'm in the final.”

De Minaur, a wildcard entry, made headlines by defeating former world No.3, Milos Raonic, earlier this week. The 18-year-old from Sydney is making rapid progress, and he will move inside the Top 170 in the rankings on Monday.

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