Nick Kyrgios through to Brisbane International final, Australian teen Alex De Minaur falls just short
Updated
Nick Kyrgios has dispatched top seed Grigor Dimitrov to storm into the Brisbane International final, while the fairy tale run of his teenage Australian countryman Alex De Minaur came to an end in the semi-finals.
Kyrgios looked out of sorts to drop the first set to world number three Dimitrov but he roared back to win the next two and claim a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 triumph on Pat Rafter Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The third-seeded Australian will meet Ryan Harrison in what will be his first final on home soil, after the American won through following a tough examination from the 18-year-old wildcard De Minaur.
De Minaur, ranked 208 in the world, lost 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 to the 47th-ranked Harrison to miss out on a match-up with Kyrgios in what would have been his first ATP World Tour final.
It had been a dream run this week for the Spain-based De Minaur, who defeated former world number three Milos Raonic in the second round.
De Minaur was the youngest Australian to make an ATP World Tour semi-final since Lleyton Hewitt in 2000.
And Hewitt, Australia's Davis Cup captain, was cheering on De Minaur courtside, as the teenager did his best impersonation of the two-time major winner.
Just like his idol, De Minaur went down swinging despite letting a huge opportunity slip in the second set.
With De Minaur up 5-3 in the second-set tiebreak, Harrison dug deep to ignore the vocal crowd and rattle off the next four points to claim it 7-5.
It appeared to be a massive blow to De Minaur's spirit, as Harrison broke twice to grab a 4-0 third-set lead.
But De Minaur broke back with Harrison serving for the match at 5-2 to bring the packed crowd to life again.
It was too little, too late, however, for De Minaur.
It was still a big week for De Minaur, whose ranking will rise to 166 after reaching his maiden ATP World Tour semi-final.
He was the lowest ranked player and the youngest to reach the semi-finals of the men's draw in the Brisbane International's 10-year history.
ABC/AAP
Topics: tennis, sport, brisbane-4000
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