JOIN USAustralia’s Nick Kyrgios overcame a mid-match meltdown and his rival’s shoe repair delays Saturday to defeat Greek top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and reach the ATP Washington Open final.
The 52nd-ranked Aussie hammered 19 aces, saved a match point and often played to the crowd in a dramatic and emotional 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory over Tsitsipas, whose shattered shoelaces led to two third-set delays.
Tsitsipas, who becomes world number five on Monday, fell behind a set and a break, took advantage of Kyrgios losing control with racquet slams and call complaints to force the third set, only to fall in the tie-breaker.
Kyrgios will play for the $365,390 (328,851 euro) top prize against the later winner between 10th-ranked Russian Daniil Medvedev and German lucky loser Peter Gojowczyk.
The 24-year-old Aussie has never faced Gojowczyk and beat Medvedev this year in Rome in their only prior meeting. Kyrgios, who improved to 4-1 against top-10 rivals this year, seeks a sixth career ATP title and his first since Acapulco in March. Medvedev, 23, seeks his fifth ATP title after taking his most recent crown at Sofia in February.
World number 122 Gojowczyk, whose lone ATP title came in 2017 at Metz, only reached the main draw after Aussie Bernard Tomic withdrew with a finger injury. He had lost 10 of his 12 prior matches before this week.
Giorgi ends McNally’s run
Italy’s Camila Giorgi ended American teenager Caty McNally’s surprising run with a 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory in the semifinals of the Citi Open in Washington on Saturday.
The big-hitting Giorgi, on the comeback trail after wrist and ankle injuries, prevailed in an opening tie break, then dominated the 17-year-old in the second set, winning five games in a row.
The Italian will face another American, Jessica Pegula, as she plays in her seventh WTA final on Sunday.
Pegula won five consecutive games off Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya in the third set to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
Zheng in final
China’s Zheng Saisai moved into the final of the Silicon Valley Classic with another upset win in California on Saturday to keep alive her dream of a maiden WTA title.
The unseeded world number 55 ousted seventh seed Maria Sakkari of Greece 7-6 (5), 6-2 in their semifinal a day after outlasting fourth-seeded American Amanda Anisimova.
Zheng will face second seed Aryna Sabalenka in Sunday’s final after the Belarusian’s powerful serve proved too much for Donna Vekic.