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Kyrgios overpowers Nadal

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Nick Kyrgios is through to the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open after beating top-seed Rafael Nadal 6-2 7-5 in a Friday night showdown.

The duo had both won matches earlier in the day to set up an eagerly-awaited clash which Kyrgios powered through with surprising ease, sending down 10 aces as he won in just an hour and 20 minutes.

The Aussie dominated the early stages of the match, breaking twice early on as he raced through the first set.

Nadal summoned up some resistance towards the end of the second, breaking back when Kyrgios served for the match.

But the 22-year-old would not be denied, dropping a forehand winner right onto the line as he broke the Nadal serve once again.

And at match point Kyrgios sent down another ace to knock out the 15-time Grand Slam champion.

Despite the defeat, the 31-year-old Nadal will for the fourth time in his career be the World No 1 when the ATP rankings come out next week.

But on Friday his thoughts were with the victims of the horrific attacks in his homeland, which claimed the lives of at least 14 people.

Nadal said: “What happened is terrible. Everybody is destroyed in Spain, including, of course, me.

“It’s a tragedy, the feeling that you are not safe. That’s terrible. So, just very sad.

“I’m very, very sorry about what happened to all the victims, all the families, friends. It’s the moment to be together like a country.”

Kyrgios moves on to play experienced Spaniard David Ferrer, who produced another fine display to upset the third seed Dominic Thiem 6-3 6-3.

And Kyrgios had earlier set up the Nadal showdown with a typically maverick display against 38-year-old Croatian Ivo Karlovic

The Aussie looked in trouble in the battle of two big servers but came from a set and a break down to win 4-6 7-6 6-3.

Nadal had less trouble in seeing off fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas in his first Friday match-up.

After an evenly contested first set with little between the pair, it was Nadal who claimed the tie-break as Ramos-Vinolas folded and picked up just a solitary point.

That proved decisive as Nadal ran away with the second set and sealed a 7-6 6-2 success.

In the first of the quarter-finals, Grigor Dimitrov continued his quest for a first Masters title by steamrolling Japan’s Yuichi Sugita in less than an hour to reach the Western & Southern semi-finals for a second successive year.

The Bulgarian, who is seeded seventh, is yet to drop a set this week and dropped just three games as he ended Sugita’s run with a 6-2 6-1 victory that took just 52 minutes and sealed a last four date with 14th seed and former finalist John Isner, who beat Jared Donaldson 7-6 7-5.

Coverage of the Western & Southern Open continues on Saturday with both men’s semi-finals from 7pm and midnight on Sky Sports Action and the final on Sunday from 9pm on Sky Sports Action

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