Western & Southern Open 2017: Muguruza, Dimitrov, Halep Advance to Cincy Finals

Championship weekend at the 2017 Western & Southern Open kicked off Saturday with the semifinal round in both the men's and women's draws from the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati.      

Rafael Nadal, the top seed in the men's bracket, lost to Nick Kyrgios on Friday night after weather issues Thursday forced him to play two matches in one day. It left seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov as the top-ranked player left in the draw.

Meanwhile, the women's tournament started the day with three of the top four seeds still alive, including No. 1 seed and reigning champion Karolina Pliskova.

Let's check out the complete set of matches for Day 6 of the Cincinnati Masters, which will get updated through the conclusion of play. A recap of the action follows the results.

Women's Semifinals

(4) Garbine Muguruza d. (1) Karolina Pliskova; 6-3, 6-2

(2) Simona Halep d. Sloane Stephens; 6-2, 6-1

Men's Semifinals

(7) Grigor Dimitrov d. (14) John Isner; 7-6, 7-6

Nick Kyrgios def. David Ferrer; 7-6, 7-6

Match Recaps

Kyrgios Squeaks by Ferrer

Kyrgios continues to ride the wave of momentum, knocking off David Ferrer in straight sets after stunning Nadal on Friday. 

Ferrer didn't go down without a fight. Both sets went to a tiebreak, with Kyrgios pulling away 7-3 and 7-4 to earn a spot in Sunday's championship match against Dimitrov. This will be the 22-year-old's first final of the season after he won three titles in 2016. 

This is a huge step in the right direction for Kyrgios. He was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon in his opening match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert with a hip injury, tried to come back at the Citi Open and again retired in his first match. 

As brilliant as Kyrgios' turnaround has been, one more win over Dimitrov would give him all the momentum he needs heading into the U.S. Open. 

Muguruza Impressively Rolls Past Pliskova

Muguruza put together her most complete performance since dismantling Venus Williams in the Wimbledon 2017 final to end Pliskova's repeat bid.

The defending champion may have been suffering from fatigue. She was forced to play two matches Friday, and when combined with having the first match on the schedule today, it was apparent she didn't play with the same vigor as her quarterfinal romp of Caroline Wozniacki.

That doesn't take away from the 23-year-old two-time major champion's victory, though. She was in complete control in her own service games and took full advantage of a lackluster second serve from her Czech counterpart to advance after a pair of routine sets.

The Women's Tennis Association highlighted match point:

WTA Insider‏ noted the Spanish star's ability to maintain form after her Wimbledon triumph:

A win Sunday would give Muguruza five career WTA Tour titles. A loss would drop her record in championship matches to 4-4, though.

Dimitrov Survives Tense Isner Battle

Dimitrov moved within one win of his seventh career ATP Tour championship after edging Isner is a pair of hard-fought tiebreakers to advance in straight sets.

As expected, both players defended their serve with relative ease. They created just three combined break points, two for Dimitrov and one for Isner, and were unsuccessful on all of them. So it came down to the tiebreaks and the Bulgarian came up better in the clutch.

Losing in such a manner has been a common issue for the big-serving American throughout his career. And, at age 32, it might be too late for him to change tactics—perhaps becoming far more aggressive in his return games, for example—to seek out improved results against high-end foes.

Nick Nemeroff of Tennis Player Magazine provided a note about Dimitrov's drought-busting win:

Tennis TV‏ passed along a look at his celebration:

Dimitrov should be the favorite for Sunday's final regardless of who wins the second semifinal.

Halep Makes Quick Work of Stephens

Stephens held serve in the opening game, but won just two of the next 14 games as Halep turned on the afterburners to pull away from the talented, but highly inconsistent, American.

The No. 2 seed is on quite a roll this week. The draw did her no favors, but she's still managed to reach the final without dropping a set against Taylor Townsend, Anastasija Sevastova, Johanna Konta and Stephens. She'll look to cap the run against Muguruza in Sunday's final.

Meanwhile, it's hard to know what to expect from Stephens, who missed the early part of the year with a foot injury, heading toward the U.S. Open. She's failed to advance beyond the fourth round of a major since the 2013 season where she reached the Australian Open semis and the Wimbledon quarters.

Jonathan Scott‏ of Tennis.com commented on her semifinal result:

On the flip side, Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times pointed out what's at stake for Halep in the final:

Muguruza holds a 2-1 advantage in their prior meetings, but they haven't faced off since 2015.