August 07, (THEWILL) – With a 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over Mikael Ymer at the Citi Open on Saturday night, Nick Kyrgios attained the consistency that had previously eluded him and advanced to a second straight tournament final for the first time in his career.
The Wimbledon runner-up to Novak Djokovic adapted well to the hot, muggy weather at the hard-court U.S. Open warm-up. On Ymer’s serve, he won an out-of-character 24-shot rally to take the lead and eventually serve out the first-set tiebreak at 5-4.
Krygios won the only service break of the game in the second set by advancing 5-3 with a cross-court half-volley from the no-man’s-land. The 27-year-old Australian is ranked No. 63 but will rise to No. 37 if he wins the championship on Sunday. The most recent of Kyrgios’ six ATP victories was the one he took home in Washington in 2019.
Yoshihito Nishioka, who is rated 96th overall, defeated top-seeded and eighth-ranked Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4 to earn a spot in the final against Kyrgios.
Nishioka defeated Jenson Brooksby, Alex de Minaur, Karen Khachanov, and Daniel Evans in Washington before upsetting Rublev. Nishioka had not triumphed in a tour-level match since Miami in March. In 2018, he won his sole ATP championship in Shenzhen, China.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
