Kyrgios, Nishioka advance to ATP Washington final

WASHINGTON, Aug 07 (AFP): Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka upset eighth-ranked Andrey Rublev on Saturday to join Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios in reaching the ATP and WTA Washington Open men's final with straight-set triumphs.
Left-hander Nishioka, ranked 96th, outclassed top seed Rublev 6-3, 6-4 in 80 minutes to book his first ATP final since 2020 at Delray Beach.
Nishioka, who won his only ATP title in 2018 at Shenzhen, fired only 12 winners but took full advantage of Rublev's 33 unforced errors.
Australia's 63rd-ranked Kyrgios ousted Sweden's 115th-ranked Mikael Ymer 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 and reached back-to-back tour-level finals for the first time in his career.
The 27-year-old Aussie, who lost to Novak Djokovic last month in his first Grand Slam final, won the most recent of his six ATP titles at Washington in 2019.
"It was a tough-fought semi-final and I'm just happy to be in the final once again," Kyrgios said. "I didn't play anywhere near my best tennis."
Kyrgios has a 3-0 career record against Nishioka, most recently winning in the third round of his 2019 Washington title run.