DIMITROV AND KYRGIOUS BATTLE FOR FIRST MASTERS TITLE

GrigorDimitrov and Nick Kyrgiosare set to battle for their first Masters 1000 title when they clash at the final of the Western & Southern Open.

Both first time finalist at the Masters 1000 event are the first players since Toronto 2002 when Andy Roddick and Guillermo Canas clashed.

The seventh seed Dimitrov has reached and lost at three Masters 1000 last four before seeing off John Isner 7-6(4), 7-6(10) to book a place in Saturday’s final. He has won ATP World Tour 500 aside lifting five ATP World Tour 250 titles. He has an impressive hard court result this season but his opponent has also posted good returns on the same surface.

Kyrgios has won one ATP World Tour 500 and two ATP World Tour 250 titles. He won his semi-final game in two tie breaks to become the youngest Cincinnati finalist since Novak Djokovic back in 2009.

He is gunning to become the first unseeded champion at the Cincinnati tournament in the history of the Open Era. In the whole Masters 1000 series, since David Nalbandianat Paris 2007 no unseededplayer has won a title.

In the doubles final, third seed Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares would play No. 5 seed Pierre-hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. Either of Murray or Mahut would claim their 20th ATP World Tour doubles title. Herbert and Mahut have reached5-1 in ATP Masters 1000 finals, including their recent Montreal feat.

At the WTA wing, SimonaHalep moved closer to her first world No. 1 ranking when she defeated Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-1 in the semis. She would face fourth ranked GarbineMuguruza in Sunday’s final. A victory for Halep means she would displace Karolina Pliskova at the WTA rankings.