Tsitsipas defeats top-ranked Medvedev to set up clash with Coric in Cincinnati Open final
Kvitová to face Garcia in women's final
Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas edged world number one Daniil Medvedev 7-6(6) 3-6 6-3 in an absorbing semifinal at the Cincinnati Open on Saturday to set up a summit clash with Borna Coric after the Croatian's 6-3 6-4 win over Cameron Norrie.
Tsitsipas saved a set point in the opening tie-break to take the lead but collapsed in stunning fashion in the second set, falling behind 5-0 before narrowly avoiding a bagel.
But the Greek, who had just two wins in nine matches against the Russian coming into the encounter, raised his game in the decider and broke the U.S. Open champion at 3-2 before comfortably serving out the match with some exquisite net play.
TSITSINNATI 🔥🔥<a href="https://twitter.com/steftsitsipas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@steftsitsipas</a> defeats the World No. 1, Daniil Medvedev, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 to secure his place in the final 💪<a href="https://twitter.com/CincyTennis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CincyTennis</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CincyTennis?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CincyTennis</a> <a href="https://t.co/ngfRzZQgqT">pic.twitter.com/ngfRzZQgqT</a>
—@atptourSunday will be Tsitsipas' first final appearance in Cincinnati and his fifth overall in 2022.
British ninth seed Norrie started brightly and raced into a 3-1 lead before Coric found his groove to win five straight games and secure the opening set.
Coric, who struck 22 winners in all, kept up the momentum in the second set, clinching eight straight points to take a 4-2 lead before closing out the match to set up a third career meeting with Tsitsipas.
Kvitová, Garcia advance to women's final
Petra Kvitová outlasted Madison Keys 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-3 earlier on Saturday.
The 32-year-old Kvitová had never advanced to the semifinals in 10 prior appearances in the Cincinnati tournament. It is Czech's 40th career final, and she'll face another surprise entrant in Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, the first qualifier to reach the final in Cincinnati.
Kvitová almost didn't make it out of the first round, having to save a match point against last year's finalist, Jil Teichmann. She also needed three sets to beat fifth-ranked Ons Jabeur in the third round.
Keys, the 2019 champion in Cincinnati, defeated three grand slam winners this week, but couldn't close out Kvitová.
There were two rain stoppages during the match, totalling four hours. Garcia took the first set, but following an almost 2 1/2-hour delay, Sabalenka forced a third set.
The second rain delay came with Garcia leading 3-1 in the third. But once play resumed, she made quick work of the Belarusian, winning three straight games to become the first qualifier to reach the finals in a WTA 1000 event.
It will be the ninth meeting between Kvitová and Garcia, with Kvitová winning five, including two straight wins in Miami and Madrid.
With files from The Associated Press
