Maybe slow starts are a positive omen for Aussie Nick Kyrgios. For the third consecutive match, the third seed fell behind a set on Saturday evening at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp.

But for the third consecutive match, Kyrgios found a way to come back, this time against defending champion Grigor Dimitrov to pick up his first win against the Bulgarian and advance to Sunday’s final, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

The final will be Kyrgios’ first on home soil and his seventh overall (3-3). Kyrgios is also the first Aussie to reach the Brisbane final since former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in 2014 (d. Federer).

Kyrgios will face American Ryan Harrison, who beat Kyrgios’ countryman Alex de Minaur 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to reach his third ATP World Tour title match (2017 Memphis, 2017 Atlanta).

Kyrgios leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-0, and Harrison has yet to take a set off the Aussie. “I know that he’s a dangerous opponent. He can serve very, very well and he’s obviously won a lot of matches here,” Kyrgios said on court.

The 22-year-old Canberra native trailed Dimitrov in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 0-2, including a loss in last year’s Western & Southern Open final in Cincinnati, and the Bulgarian was riding a seven-match win streak heading into the Brisbane semi-final. Dimitrov started on a roll as well, breaking Kyrgios once and not facing a break point in the first set to gain the lead.

But Kyrgios swung more freely in the second set and mixed up his play against Dimitrov. The third-seeded Kyrgios exchanged rapid-fire points with Dimitrov and came out the victor more often than not. He also gave Dimitrov different return looks, and the strategy seemed to throw the World No. 3 off as Kyrgios broke twice in the second set to even the match in 29 minutes.

“I knew that I had to do something a little bit differently today. I couldn’t give him too much rhythm,” Kyrgios said.

The third set followed a similar strategy. Kyrgios dominated on serve – he finished with 19 aces and won 82 per cent of his first-serve points – and broke in the seventh game before serving out the match.

All week in Brisbane, defending champion Grigor Dimitrov and a pair of Aussie semi-finalists – 18-year-old Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios – had stolen the attention during the opening week of the ATP World Tour season.

But quietly, Ryan Harrison of the U.S. had gone about his work, leading the tournament in aces and battling through a pair of early three-set contests. Now the American will go for his second ATP World Tour title in the past 11 months.

Harrison ended the fairytale run of #NextGenATP de Minaur on Saturday afternoon, coming back from a 3/5 deficit in the second-set tie-break to advance 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3. Harrison will play in his third ATP World Tour final, all of which have come since February 2017, when the American won the Memphis Open (d. Basilashvili) for his maiden title. Last July, Harrison fell to countryman John Isner in the BB&T Atlanta Open final.

The 25-year-old will face either top seed and Brisbane doubles partner Grigor Dimitrov or the third-seeded Kyrgios in Sunday’s final. “I’m excited to be in the final. They’re both great players. I’m going to have to play really good tennis to have a shot there,” Harrison said on court.

And to think, Harrison had never won even a set in Brisbane before this week. The right-hander had gone 0-4 during his prior appearances. But a new attitude might be to thank for his early success. Harrison, who, like de Minaur, was a highly-touted teenager on the ATP World Tour, said he’s simply looking to compete in 2018 and forget about expectations.

“Coming into this year I want to leave it all on the court every time I play. I feel like if I do that I’ll be improving. I didn’t have a whole lot of pressure on myself. I was just trying to play as hard as I could and I’m in the final,” Harrison said.

De Minaur, before facing Harrison, hadn’t lost a set this week in Brisbane. The 18-year-old had captured the hearts of thousands of Aussie fans this week by beating two Top 50 players – No. 44 Steve Johnson and No. 24 Milos Raonic, along with #NextGenATP counterpart Michael Mmoh – and was the clear fan favourite to reach his maiden ATP World Tour final.

“The No. 1 thing I wanted to do was take the crowd of it. Miserable fail,” Harrison said before laughing.

Proactive play – aggressive second-serve returning and attacking the net often – had de Minaur two points away from reaching the title match. At 5/4 in the second-set tie-break, de Minaur had the contest on his racquet. But Harrison won the first point to get 5/5, and de Minaur double faulted before smacking a forehand long on set point.

The Aussie then started flat in the decider, and Harrison seized the opportunity, breaking twice to lead 5-1. He was broken while trying to serve out the match at 5-2, but Harrison recovered and held to love to reach the title match.

“The thing that I love about his game is how aggressive he is… He’s got a really bright future. It was a pleasure to play him,” Harrison said. “I was just trying to tell myself to compete as hard as I could, focus as much as I could on my side of the court. And then hope that he was going to give me a dip in level. I don’t know if he dipped in level but I think things only just worked out for me.”

Typically when Grigor Dimitrov sprints to and hurdles over the net, he’s doing it for fun – do not try it at home, kids – not because he’s scared for his opponent who has suddenly collapsed to the court. But the Bulgarian was in the latter position on Friday evening during his quarter-final match against Kyle Edmund at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp.

The two were tied 4-4 in the third and final set when Edmund let out a shriek and fell to the ground, grasping his right ankle. Instinctively, Dimitrov raced to the net and hurdled over it, as if he had done it before, or a few times in the past.

Find you a man who…

Sportsmanship goals by @GrigorDimitrov ?#BrisbaneTENnis pic.twitter.com/CMitSARvYN

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 5, 2018

Leaning over his opponent, he consoled Edmund, grabbing his arm and seeing if he was OK. A few seconds later, Dimitrov was helping Edmund off the court and walking him to his chair, Edmund’s arm wrapped around Dimitrov’s shoulders as the crowd applauded the sportsmanship.

“It was just such an instinct for me that I didn’t think, ‘Okay, I’m just going to go around the net, or I’m going to go that post or this post’. It was just like such a natural instinct for me to go and jump over,” said Dimitrov, who also trains on track hurdles, which are of similar height to the net.

“It’s tough, obviously, what happened. Little unfortunate, that’s for sure. But, I mean, I would have reacted like this whoever I was playing against. So this is just my instinct, my reaction, to do that right away. I hope he gets better.”

An ATP World Tour trainer re-wrapped Edmund’s ankle, and play continued during the quarter-final, which Dimitrov won 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4 after taking the final two games. In the semi-finals, the Bulgarian will face Aussie Nick Kyrgios for the third time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

Edmund appreciated his opponent’s quick actions. “It’s good to have someone like that. But he’s always been like that, Grigor. He’s been a good guy on and off the court,” Edmund said.

The Brit thought the majority of ATP World Tour players would have done the same for their opponents as well.

“It’s good that someone is concerned about you, but as tennis players you generally are… Most people would have done that, but it’s nice to see him get up and help me to the chair,” Edmund said.

Edmund was also optimistic that he would be feeling fully healed in time for his next tournament, the Sydney International, which starts on Sunday.

“The ankle got extended a bit too much and that was it really,” he said. “But I’ve obviously done it twice before. This is my third time. So from the past, the next morning it’s a bit tender but then, after a day or two, it settles down. Basically, it’s just a rolled ankle. That’s what it is.”

Grigor Dimitrov and Nick Kyrgios will meet for a third time in the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp semi-finals on Saturday.

With their incredible athleticism and shot-making capabilities, Dimitrov and Kyrgios are two of the most exciting players on the ATP World Tour and look set to produce a classic when they collide at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament in Queensland.

Reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-0 after wins at the 2015 BNP Paribas Open and in the 2017 Western & Southern Open final.

ATPWorldTour.com looks back at their two previous matches.

2015 BNP Paribas Open, Second Round, Indian Wells – Dimitrov d. Kyrgios 76(2) 36 76(4)
Heading into their first meeting in the Californian desert, both players were in-form after strong starts during the Australian swing.

Their Indian Wells duel was a classic, lasting two hours and 10 minutes, featuring a number of awe-inspiring rallies including an unforgettable Hot Shot winner from then-World No. 11 Dimitrov.

Kyrgios would serve for the win at 5-4 in the decider, but a nasty fall would hamper the Australian’s movement and, after rallying to force a final set tie-break, Dimitrov would prove too solid to triumph 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(4).

2017 Western & Southern Open, Final, Cincinnati – Dimitrov d. Kyrgios 63 75
Two years and five months would pass before they met again, in entirely different circumstances. Dimitrov, once more ranked at No. 11 in the ATP Rankings having dropped at low at No. 40 in July 2016, had produced an ATP World Tour-best start to 2017, while Kyrgios performances at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells and Miami were promising.

On U.S. soil once more, Kyrgios produced his best level again to defeat Rafael Nadal en route to his first Masters 1000 final. Dimitrov didn’t drop a set on his march to a debut Masters 1000 championship match of his own, defeating Juan Martin del Potro and John Isner along the way.

In the biggest match of both of their careers, it was Dimitrov who rose to the occasion conceding just 13 points on his serve throughout the 85-minute contest. Dimitrov held 52 of his 53 service games across the week to lift the trophy and pocket 1,000 ATP Ranking points.

On Saturday at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp, both players come into this third encounter full of belief after navigating tricky semi-final paths.

Dimitrov will feel invincible after saving two match points down in his opening-round against John Millman and outlasting a strong performance from Kyle Edmund in the quarter-finals. Kyrgios will also be encouraged by his abilities to turn on the style, like a tap, as he did in both of his three-set wins against Matthew Ebden and Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Who knows what the next instalment of this great rivalry has to offer. Only one thing is for sure; you won’t want to miss it.

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal has arrived in Melbourne and commenced training on Rod Laver Arena ahead of the Australian Open, which begins on 15 January.

The Spaniard is set to begin his 2018 campaign in Melbourne after a terrific 2017 in which he not only re-gained the top spot in the ATP Rankings, but at 31 became the oldest player to finish year-end No. 1.

The left-hander also became the first player in the Open Era to win 10 titles at the same event, achieving the feat three times with victories at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and at Roland Garros. He won six titles from 10 finals.

Nadal, who has contested the Australian Open final in three of his past five appearances, will attempt to win his second title at the season’s first Grand Slam (also 2009).

Defending champion Grigor Dimitrov set up a mouth-watering semi-final clash with Nick Kyrgios at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp after defeating Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund 6-3 6-7(3) 6-4 on Friday night.

The World No. 3 moved to a 16-4 career record in the Queensland event after a hard-fought two-hour, 25-minute win over Edmund and will meet home favourite Kyrgios, who came from behind to beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 earlier in the day.

Dimitrov will attempt to increase his seven-match winning streak further in his semi-final against Kyrgios. The two, who last met in the 2017 Western & Southern Open final, have clashed on two previous occasions with Dimitrov winning both to lead their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

“He can do everything pretty much out there on the court,” said Dimitrov. “I have just got to be ready all the time; simple as that. You just never know what can come from him. I think obviously he’s one of the most talented players out there; it’s without a doubt. He can serve and hit every shot. He hits the spots, the slice and is even moving better.

“So he’s definitely a challenger. He has proven himself, last year playing quite a few good matches, getting to the final we played against each other in Cincinnati. He has everything to beat anyone and he has proven that.”

The first set was ultimately decided in the seventh and eighth games with both men finding themselves down, 15/40 on serve. Last year’s Nitto ATP Finals champion first managed to serve his way out of trouble at 3-3 before pouncing in the next game to establish a lead which he would close out, with an unreturned serve, in the following game for the first set.

Edmund and Dimitrov both confidently held serve in the second set, with the only break opportunity falling the way of Dimitrov in the ninth game. The 26-year-old was presented with two break points at 15/40 to serve for the match, but the World No. 50 stepped up his game with confident play including a huge forehand winner to ultimately regain control and hold serve for 5-4.

After three further service holds, a tie-break was needed and it was Edmund who would emerge with the set. Changing ends with a 4/2 lead after a Dimitrov double fault, the 22-year-old who was looking to reach his first ATP World Tour semi-final since the Erste Bank Open 500 in October 2017, managed to create three set point chances at 6/3. He only needed one, levelling the match with a rifled forehand return winner.

Hoping to keep aspirations of securing a ninth ATP World Tour title this week, Dimitrov worked his way to two early break points at 1-0 but once again Edmund produced on the big points, drawing an error from the Bulgarian and then firing down an unreturned serve before eventually levelling at 1-1.

Deep in the decider at 4-4, the match would take an unfortunate turn. Edmund, originally wrong-footed by his opponent’s forehand, fell heavily on his ankle before Dimitrov leaped over the net to rush to his rival’s aid before a lengthy medical time-out.

Dimitrov held his serve and capitalised in the following game, watching an Edmund backhand sail beyond the baseline to reach the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp semi-finals for a fourth time. Edmund, still aiming to capture his first ATP World Tour title, took the positives out of the match and his week in Queensland and will look to use his experiences moving forward in 2018.

“It was a good match,” said Edmund. “I thought I played well. He played well. We were both really into it. From my side of things personally, it was a lot of positives. A lot of stuff I’m working on that really showed against the World No. 3. It was positive, this week, against three top players.”