John Isner and Nick Kyrgios will face off in Atlanta final after winning their semifinal matches in three sets, respectively on Opelka and Nishioka.
The Australian Kyrgios stopped the impressive run of the Japanese 20 year-old Yoshihito Nishioka, winning 6-3 3-6 6-3. Only one break made the difference in each set, with both players serving well, but Kyrgios managed to make the decisive one in the third. There was no way back for Nishioka as the Aussie hit 7 aces in the decider (16 in total) to reach his second ATP final of the season.
Nishioka and Kyrgios will both break their best rankings next week.
Instead, tournament’s first seed Isner had to storm back from a set down to outlast the fellow American Reilly Opelka 6-7(5) 6-4 6-2. The 18 year-old Opelka saved a set point on 5-6 and came back from 3-5 down in the tie-break to take the first set, but lost his serve three times in the last two sets, while Isner, who hit 22 aces in the match, faced no break points.
“I had to stay focused and keep holding my serve, and that’s exactly what I did. I think experience was on my side,” Isner said. “But we’re going to be seeing a lot of Reilly in the future…. He’s way more advanced than I was at 18. I wish him all the success in the world.”
Opelka will have the chance to play in another ATP event next week as he has received a Special Exempt into Atp 250 Los Cabos main draw.
In the BB&T Atlanta Open final, Isner and Kyrgios will play each other for the third time in an ATP tournament. Isner won the previous meetings in Madrid 2015 (in three sets) and in Montreal 2015 (in straight sets).
“He’s a shotmaker. He’s proven he can beat anyone in the world,” Isner said. “It’s No. 1 vs. No. 2… It should be a great match.”
