Nick Kyrgios backed up his Acapulco wins against top seed Rafael Nadal and former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka with a 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(7) victory against third seed John Isner as Friday evening turned into Saturday morning, reaching the final of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

The 23-year-old Australian is into his first ATP Tour final since winning his fourth tour-level title last January in Brisbane. Kyrgios will face reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev on Sunday for his fifth ATP Tour crown.

Two nights after saving three match points in a final-set tie-break against Nadal, Kyrgios once again found a flair for the dramatic against Isner. Despite giving up a mini-break advantage twice in the third-set tie-break, the Aussie converted his third match point with a stick-save drop-shot winner from the baseline to triumph after two hours and 21 minutes, just past 1 a.m. local time.

Battling Isner, who entered the match with a tournament-leading 75 aces, it was Kyrgios who won in that department, too. The former World No. 13 was broken just once in 18 service games, delivering 25 aces to Isner’s 24 and winning 82 per cent of his first-serve points. Kyrgios began the second set by hitting six aces from eight first serves.

There was little difference between the two players as the midnight oil burned in Mexico. Kyrgios saved two break points from 15/40 in the first set with big serves, while two double faults got Isner in trouble on his serve at 5-5. The American missed an inside-out forehand on Kyrgios’ fourth break chance of the game, allowing the Aussie to serve out the set.

It was much of the same in the second set, with the players appearing destined for a tie-break. But Isner placed several returns deep in the court late in the set, and Kyrgios dumped a backhand into the net to send the pair to a decider.

In four previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings between the two, Kyrgios had won all five of their tie-breaks. The Aussie made it 6-0 with his victory in the deciding-set tie-break. Kyrgios earned a mini-break for 3/1, before Isner swatted away a forehand volley to get back on serve. The Aussie did well to return a big first serve on his first match point at 6/5, but Isner hammered an inside-out forehand for a winner. After Kyrgios earned a second match point, on his own serve at 7/6, the unseeded player hit a down-the-line backhand well wide to give Isner hope. 

But Kyrgios hit a big forehand winner to earn a third opportunity to reach the final. And while the 6’10” American scrambled well to hook a running forehand down the line, Kyrgios was able to scoop it up on the short hop, just over the net, and Isner could not get there in time. Isner won three more points than Kyrgios in the match, but the men embraced with smiles on their faces after a well-fought battle.

Kyrgios arrived in Acapulco on a seven-match losing streak against opponents inside the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings. But with his victories against Nadal and Isner, the Aussie is now 17-28 against the elite group. The right-hander is the No. 72 player in the world this week, his lowest standing since he was No. 70 the week of 4 August 2014. But thanks to his performance at this ATP 500 event, he is guaranteed to return to the Top 50 on Monday.

Kyrgios has lost his past two FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against World No. 3 Zverev, his opponent in the final. But the Aussie once led their series 3-1, with two of his three victories coming in straight sets, and they are now tied at 3-3. The pair’s latest meeting in a tournament came in Beijing two years ago, where Kyrgios defeated Zverev in a 78-minute semi-final.

Did You Know?
Kyrgios has now won five consecutive final-set tie-breaks, while Isner has lost three of his past four.

Alexander Zverev is on the verge of capturing his first ATP Tour title of 2019, defeating Brit Cameron Norrie 7-6(0), 6-3 on Friday to reach the final of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion has gone one step further than he did on his Acapulco debut last year, when he lost to Juan Martin del Potro in the semi-finals in straight sets. Zverev, the second seed, has not lost a set this week, getting broken just twice through four matches.

Norrie was fresh off an impressive straight-set quarter-final victory against in-form American Mackenzie McDonald. But he could not reach his second ATP Tour final (Auckland earlier this year), as Zverev was too solid from the baseline. The German did not make many errors, and while Norrie battled, Zverev was never under much pressure in baseline rallies.

Norrie entered the match leading the tournament in first-serve return points won at 45 per cent. But Zverev did well to get ahead in rallies using his first delivery, striking 10 aces and winning 81 per cent of first-serve points. He has won 86 per cent (118/136) of first-serve points this week against #NextGenATP Aussie Alexei Popyrin, David Ferrer, Sydney champion Alex de Minaur and Norrie.

But the key came on second-serve points against the World No. 64 Norrie, as Zverev captured 65 per cent of those points. While he was broken when serving for the first set at 5-4, Zverev shrugged off that hiccup and did not lose a point in the ensuing tie-break.

Zverev will face 2018 Nitto ATP Finals debutant John Isner or Aussie Nick Kyrgios for the title. The German leads Isner 5-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, while he has split six meetings with Kyrgios. The 21-year-old German is trying to lift a trophy for the fourth consecutive year, and earn his 11th ATP Tour title.

Roger Federer is ready to take a crack at history. On Saturday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Federer will make his first attempt in a final to lift his 100th tour-level trophy, trying to join Jimmy Connors (109 titles) as the only two men to accomplish the feat. This is Federer’s fourth tournament and his first championship match since earning his 99th crown last October in Basel.

But standing in the 37-year-old Swiss’ way is reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas. The 20-year-old Greek, who is set to make his Top 10 debut in the ATP Rankings on Monday, will take confidence from his win against Federer in the fourth round of the Australian Open in the pair’s only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

“Maybe [there is] a little bit [of a revenge element to the final]… Obviously, I was horribly disappointed and upset that I missed as many break points as I did [at the Australian Open, with] all the opportunities I had,” said Federer, who didn’t convert any of his 12 break chances against Tsitsipas in Melbourne. “That match hurt in some ways. But it’s part of the game. He did very well to get out of those tricky situations.”

Tsitsipas brings an eight-match winning streak into the final after triumphing at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille last week. The Greek is prepared for Federer at full flight, knowing there is history at stake.

“I’m sure he will be pumped up. It’s not easy. It’s not easy for both of us. He obviously wants to beat me. For him, that loss was a big thing,” Tsitsipas said. “I’m pretty sure he will come… [to] the court fired up, wanting to take revenge from me. I’m definitely expecting that.”

Both players have overcome adversity to make the final at this ATP 500 tennis tournament, with Federer losing a set in his first two matches and Tsitsipas being forced to a deciding set in three of his four clashes. 

When they played in Melbourne, the 20-year-old Tsitsipas saved four set points to avoid a two-set deficit against Federer. The Greek showed similar fight on Friday in his final-set tie-break win over Gael Monfils in the Dubai semi-finals. Monfils led Tsitsipas 6-4, 3-1, and also had four break chances to take a 5-3 lead in the final set, before the Greek emerged victorious.

Federer vs. Tsitsipas Stats: 2019 Australian Open (Tsitsipas d. Federer 6-7(11), 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-6(5)

“He gets it done that way. It’s not the classic one-dimensional way. He has many ways to do it. That makes him tough to play, tough to beat,” Federer said. “He showed me at the Australian Open how hard he is [to play]. I hope I’m going to play well… We’re still far from [reaching 100 titles], it seems. I’m just going to try to focus and play good tennis.”

While this will only be the pair’s second tour-level match against one another, Federer admires Tsitsipas’ game. The 99-time tour-level champion likes the Greek’s knack for winning points in a variety of ways.  

“What I like about [Stefanos] is how he’s able to take the ball early, time and time again. [With his] serve, he takes it early and comes to the net. He does that all the time. Then on the backhand side, he has more air, which gives him a bit more margin,” Federer said. “For a big guy, he moves well… Nowadays, all the big guys move well. I don’t know how they do it… It’s nice to see all the qualities that he has. He has different ways to win points, which makes it hard to play against.”

While this is Federer’s first chance to join the ‘100 Club’, Tsitsipas is not shying away from the moment. “The biggest joy is to beat the Top 10 guys,” Tsitsipas said. 

Beating Federer to prevent history and win his first ATP 500 title would be his biggest victory yet.