BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Nick Kyrgios notched 19 aces in a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over defending champion and top-seeded Grigor Dimitrov in the Brisbane International semifinals on Saturday to advance to his first tour-level final on home soil.
Dimitrov, playing his first tournament since winning the season-ending ATP Finals and rising to a career-high No. 3 ranking, dictated terms in the opening set but had few answers when Kyrgios went on the offensive in the second and third sets.
Third-seeded Kyrgios, who won all three of his ATP titles in 2016, will face American Ryan Harrison in Sunday's championship match.
Harrison reached his third tour-level final with a 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 win over 18-year-old wildcard Alex De Minaur.
De Minaur, who defeated former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic in the second round, was two points from another upset when he led 5-3 in the second-set tiebreaker. But Harrison went on a roll to win the last four points of the tiebreaker to level the match, then got two early breaks to lead 4-0 in the third set to take control of the match.
Harrison was scheduled to partner Dimitrov in a doubles semifinal later Saturday but withdrew from the match, giving top-seeded John Peers and Henri Kontinen a spot in the final.
The women's final later Saturday will feature No. 3-seeded Elina Svitolina against Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich.