Marin Cilic laid it all on the line in a 1:35am finish at the Western & Southern Open as he battled into his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Grigor Dimitrov.

“It’s a big win for me, first time in a Masters 1000 final,” said Cilic, who will face World No. 2 Andy Murray. “I’m looking forward to it. I’m feeling good on the court. I played great this week. I’m excited to be in the final playing against Andy. He is in great form, playing great tennis. I hope tomorrow I’ll play a good match and I know I’ll have a good chance if I play well.”

At 27, Cilic is looking to become the youngest winner of an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown. The right-hander, who this week announced that Jonas Bjorkman will start as his new coach in New York, had previously fallen in all eight quarter-final showings at this level.

After Wimbledon champion Murray had notched his 22^nd straight tour win over Milos Raonic in the first Cincinnati semi-final, rain pushed Cilic’s contest with Dimitrov into the early hours of Saturday morning.

Both players were searching for milestone moments in their careers, but it was Cilic who seized the opportunity, rallying from 2-4 down in the final set. The Croat reeled off four straight points from 0/30 to break Dimitrov at 5-5 and served out victory after two hours and 24 minutes.

“It was a Kings Island of a match,” said Cilic, referring to the iconic rollercoasters across the road from the Lindner Family Tennis Center. “It was definitely a tough match in grueling, heavy conditions. We obviously waited a long time, starting at 11:28pm. Mentally it was not easy. I was not playing too well today. I didn’t find the rhythm on my serve and I was just trying to stay in there in the third set and manage physically.

“[At 2-4] I was trying to give myself some positive thoughts to bounce back. I felt that I was close to playing better. I was just missing by small margins, so I focused on putting the ball in play a bit more and waiting for the right opportunity. I returned well on those occasions and it paid off.”

The 2014 US Open champion Cilic will attempt to overturn a 2-11 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Murray as he searches for his first victory over the Scot since Rotterdam 2014.

Cilic is chasing his 15^th tour-level title, having only lifted two trophies since his US Open triumph, both in Moscow (2014-15). This year, Cilic has finished runner-up in Marseille (l. to Kyrgios) and Geneva (l. to Wawrinka). He has a 32-17 match record in 2016.

Andy Murray overcame a wet start to semi-final Saturday at the Western & Southern Open to book his spot in the championship match for a third time.

The two-time Cincinnati champion (2008, ’11) prevailed 6-3, 6-3 over fourth seed Milos Raonic, extending his career-long unbeaten run to 22 straight matches. It marks the 33rd straight ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event that has featured a member of the Big Four in the final.

“I didn’t get broken the last couple of matches and when I was in difficult situations I made good choices,” Murray said. “That’s helped keep the matches shorter. If you’re a bit lower on confidence, regardless of how fresh you are, if you haven’t played loads of matches you make bad decisions in those moments. And because I’ve won a lot the last few months, that’s something that has been good, especially this week for sure. I’ve needed it to be because I haven’t been feeling perfect. I’ve managed to get through the matches pretty well.”

As it has all week, rain steadily coated the Lindner Family Tennis Center Murray on Saturday. Murray and Raonic only played four points before the skies opened once again, halting the action for 12 minutes with the Scot holding two break points at 15/40. He would waste no time in snatching the lead upon resumption, breaking immediately with a dipping cross-court forehand that caught Raonic out of position.

Murray would overcome deficits in each of his first three service games, surviving a pair of break points in the process. His second serve defense was on song in claiming 67 per cent of such points in the 52-minute opener. The top seed continued to apply pressure on the Raonic serve in the latter stages, breaking to secure the first set and converting another break in the eighth game of the second. After letting a pair of match points slip while serving for it at 5-3, he would regroup to seal the victory after 90 minutes. A sublime drop volley clinched his spot in the final.

“I think he was trying to be aggressive,” Murray reflected on Raonic’s performance. “I think he made maybe more mistakes than usual because of that. Maybe it appeared that he was being more aggressive, but I felt like he made more mistakes because he was trying to be more aggressive than usual. That’s how it felt to me.” 

Murray, who fired 18 winners and saved all three break points faced, notched his fifth FedEx ATP Head2Head victory over Raonic this year, extending his overall lead to 8-3. Raonic, who struck 31 unforced errors, was bidding to leap to a career-high World No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Rankings with a win. Murray played the role of spoiler for a third time this year, after stopping the Canadian in his quest to reach a first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open and win his maiden major title at Wimbledon.

The Dunblane native, who joined the ‘600 Wins Club’ earlier in the week, will play for a third Cincinnati title and 13th at the Masters 1000 level against either Grigor Dimitrov or Marin Cilic. He previously defeated Novak Djokovic in the final in both 2008 and ’11.

“I think it’s going to come down to certain things,” said Raonic. “I got to obviously serve much better than I did today. Today I also did a better job of creating opportunities on his serve that I didn’t make count. I had three break chances and three second serves; I put the ball in twice. No, I put the ball in once on second serves.

“That is not a formula of success by any means. It’s going to come down to a few important points, playing them better, and obviously executing better than I did on my end of things when it comes to my service games than I did today.” 

Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo beat Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-1 to move into the final of the Western & Southern Open on Saturday. Rogers Cup champions Dodig/Melo are looking for their second consecutive ATP World Tour Masters 1000 doubles title and secured the win in 58 minutes, just before rain hit the tournament grounds.

The Croatian-Brazilian duo overcame an early push from Nester/Pospisil, saving all four break points faced in the opening set. The 2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals runners-up took the Canadians’ serve in the first game of the second set, then swept the last four games to move into their first final in Cincinnati. No. 5 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London, Dodig/Melo are well-positioned to advance to the prestigious year-end event for the fourth consecutive year.

Nestor is the defending doubles champion in Cincinnati, having won the title last year alongside Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

Dodig/Melo will aim for their fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title against either five-time Cincinnati champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan or Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau.