Dimitrov, Isner, Kyrgios, Ferrer Battle In Cincy Semis
SURPRISE SEMI-FINALS TO PRODUCE NEW CINCY CHAMPION
• A new Western & Southern Open champion will be crowned among No. 7 seed Grigor Dimitrov, No. 14 seed John Isner and unseeded players Nick Kyrgios and David Ferrer. Isner and Ferrer have played for the Cincinnati title before, finishing as runners-up in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Dimitrov and Kyrgios, on the other hand, have never reached an ATP Masters 1000 final.
• Isner and Dimitrov will meet in Saturday’s first semi-final. Neither man has lost a set this week, with Isner’s dominance dating back exactly one month. The Newport and Atlanta champion is 12-1 in matches and 24-2 in sets since July 19, holding in 134 of 137 service games (98%), saving 14 of 17 break points (82%) and hitting 238 aces and 27 double faults (9-to-1 ratio). Isner is 3-5 lifetime in ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals, while Dimitrov is 0-3. In the 2016 Cincinnati semi-finals, Dimitrov held two game points for a 5-2 third-set lead before falling to eventual champion Marin Cilic.
• Kyrgios faces Ferrer with a spot in his first final of 2017 on the line. The Aussie eliminated No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal on Friday, making 2017 Cincinnati the first ATP Masters 1000 event without a Big Four semi-finalist and finalist since 2012 Paris. Ferrer was the 2012 Paris champion, marking the only ATP Masters 1000 title won by any of the Cincinnati semi-finalists. The 35-year-old dropped to a 12-year low No. 46 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on July 17. Ferrer is 12-2 since then, and this week became the oldest Cincinnati semi-finalist since 1970 champion Ken Rosewall.
• Four of the last five Grand Slam champions are represented in the doubles semi-finals on Grandstand. Wimbledon champions Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo meet US Open champions Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares. Then, Roland Garros champions Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus take on 2016 Wimbledon champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.
And then there were four...
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 19, 2017
????????Kyrgios v Ferrer????????
????????Isner v Dimitrov????????
Don't miss the #CincyTennis semi-finals ???? https://t.co/BmumqUUL35 pic.twitter.com/AiQl6RTTRT
NON-BIG FOUR ATP MASTERS 1000 CHAMPIONS (since 2005)
2017: Alexander Zverev (Rome, Montreal), Cincinnati Champion
2016: Marin Cilic (Cincinnati)
2014: Stan Wawrinka (Monte-Carlo), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Toronto)
2012: David Ferrer (Paris)
2010: Ivan Ljubicic (Indian Wells), Andy Roddick (Miami), Robin Soderling (Paris)
2009: Nikolay Davydenko (Shanghai)
2008: Nikolay Davydenko (Miami), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Paris)
2007: David Nalbandian (Madrid, Paris)
2006: Tommy Robredo (Hamburg), Andy Roddick (Cincinnati), Nikolay Davydenko (Paris)
2005: Tomas Berdych (Paris)
NOTE: Nadal (30), Novak Djokovic (30), Roger Federer (22) and Andy Murray (14) have won 96 of 115 ATP Masters 1000 titles since the start of the 2005 season (83%)
FEDEX ATP HEAD2HEADS: SINGLES SEMI-FINALS
[14] John Isner (USA) vs [7] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) Isner Leads 1-0
Isner 2017 Summary
W (2): Newport (d Ebden); Atlanta (d Harrison); SF (1): ATP Masters 1000 Rome (l A. Zverev); QF (4): Auckland (l Johnson); Memphis (l Young); Houston (l Escobedo); Eastbourne (l Gasquet)
YTD W-L: 28-15 (15-8 on hard)
YTD Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 12
Date of Birth: April 26, 1985 (32)
Emirates ATP Ranking: 19
Cincinnati W-L (Best Result): 15-9 (2013 Finalist)
• Tournament Note: Serve has not been broken in 11 of last 13 matches, including all 4 matches this week
• Did not drop a set en route to back-to-back titles at Newport (d. Ebden) and Atlanta (d. Harrison)
• In Newport, became 2nd champion to not face break point at an ATP event since at least 1991 (Haas: 2007 Memphis)
• Went 7-1 in TBs to reach 1st clay-court ATP Masters 1000 SF at Rome (d. Wawrinka and Cilic, l. to A. Zverev)
• Lost 3rd-set TBs in QFs at Auckland (l. to Johnson), Memphis (l. to Young) and Houston (l. to Escobedo)
• Let 2-set lead and 2 MPs slip away vs M. Zverev in Australian Open 2R -- 5th loss of career from 2 sets up
• Squandered 3 MPs in ATP Masters 1000 Miami 3R vs A. Zverev; saved 1 MP in Auckland 2R vs Jaziri
• Advanced to Acapulco doubles final w/F. Lopez (d. Marach/F. Martin 16-14 in Match TB, l. to J. Murray/Soares)
• Withdrew from ATP Masters 1000 Madrid and Washington due to right knee injury
Dimitrov 2017 Summary
W (2): Brisbane (d Nishikori); Sofia (d Goffin); SF (2): Australian Open (l Nadal); London/Queen's Club (l Lopez); QF (1): Rotterdam (l Goffin)
YTD W-L: 32-14 (22-6 on hard)
YTD Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 6
Date of Birth: May 16, 1991 (26)
Emirates ATP Ranking: 11
Cincinnati W-L (Best Result): 12-5 (2016-17 Semi-finalist)
• Tournament Note: Lost in ATP Masters 1000 SFs at 2014 Rome (l. to No. 1 Nadal), 2014 Toronto (l. to Tsonga) and 2016 Cincinnati (l. to Cilic)
• Began season 16-1 and reached 2nd Grand Slam SF at Australian Open (d. Goffin, l. to Nadal in 5 sets after 4:56)
• Captured 5th and 6th ATP titles respectively at Brisbane (d. Thiem, Raonic and Nishikori) and Sofia (d. Goffin)
• Reached London/Queen’s Club SF (l. to Lopez), Rotterdam QF (l. to Goffin) and Wimbledon 4R (l. to Federer)
• Broke back into Top 10 of Emirates ATP Rankings on July 17 for 1st time since February 23, 2015
• Suffered 3R losses at Indian Wells (l. to Sock after holding 4 MPs), Madrid (l. to Thiem after holding 5 MPs), Roland Garros (l. to Carreno Busta), Washington (l. to Medvedev) and Montreal (l. to Haase)
• Fell to No. 158 Pella in Miami 2R, No. 385 Robredo in Marrakech 2R as WC and No. 155 Janowicz in Stuttgart 2R
Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs David Ferrer (ESP) Ferrer Leads 1-0
Kyrgios 2017 Summary
SF (3): Marseille (l Tsonga); Acapulco (l Querrey); ATP Masters 1000 Miami (l Federer); QF (1): ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (w/o vs Federer)
YTD W-L: 25-11 (22-6 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: April 27, 1995 (22)
Emirates ATP Ranking: 23
Cincinnati W-L (Best Result): 5-2 (2017 Semi-finalist)
• Tournament Note: Lost in ATP Masters 1000 SFs at 2016 Miami (l. to Nishikori) and 2017 Miami (l. to Federer)
• Advanced to ATP Masters 1000 Miami SF for 2nd straight year (l. to Federer 76 67 76 in 3 hours, 11 minutes)
• Also lost to eventual champions in 3-set SFs at Marseille (l. to Tsonga) and Acapulco (d. Djokovic, l. to Querrey)
• Hit 25 aces to beat Djokovic 76(9) 75 in Acapulco QF -- most aces allowed by Djokovic in best-of-3 set match
• Joined countryman Hewitt as 2nd player to win 1st meeting with Djokovic, Federer and Nadal
• Defeated Djokovic again in ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 4R (w/o vs Federer in QF due to illness)
• Blew 2-set lead and 1 MP in Aus. Open 2R loss to Seppi (d. Seppi at 2015 Aus. Open from 2 sets and 1 MP down)
• Led Australia to Davis Cup SF with wins over Czech Republic (d. Satral) and USA (d. Isner and Querrey)
• Withdrew from ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo (elbow), ATP Masters 1000 Rome (left hip) and Atlanta (left hip)
• Retired in 3 straight matches: London/Queen’s Club 1R (hip), Wimbledon 1R (hip), Washington 2R (right shoulder)
Ferrer 2017 Summary
W (1): Bastad (d Dolgopolov); SF (1): Estoril (l Carreno Busta)
YTD W-L: 22-16 (9-5 on hard)
YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 27
Date of Birth: April 2, 1982 (35)
Emirates ATP Ranking: 31
Cincinnati W-L (Best Result): 21-12 (2014 Finalist)
• Tournament Note: Owns 7-10 record in ATP Masters 1000 SFs. Beat Benneteau in 2014 Cincinnati SF before falling to Federer in final.
• Saved 2 MPs vs Laaksonen in QF en route to 1st title since 2015 Vienna at Bastad (d. Dolgopolov)
• Became 13th player to reach 700 wins by beating Lopez in Rome 1R on May 16 (l. to Nishikori in 2R)
• Upset 2-time semi-finalist Gasquet in Wimbledon 1R (l. to Berdych in 3R)
• Lost to countrymen Bautista Agut in Australian Open 3R and Lopez in Roland Garros 2R
• Fell to 0-17 lifetime against Federer with 3-set loss in ATP Masters 1000 Montreal 3R
• Suffered 5-match losing streak from January 21 to May 4 before reaching Estoril SF (l. to Carreno Busta)
• Dropped to No. 46 in Emirates ATP Rankings on July 17 -- lowest since No. 47 on March 14, 2005
• Withdrew from Indian Wells, Monte-Carlo and Kitzbuehel due to Achilles tendon injury