Andy Murray, the former World No. 1, reached his first tour-level final on grass since 2016, defeating Australian Nick Kyrgios 7-6(5), 6-2 at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart on Saturday.
The Scot saved both break points he faced in the first set and increased his energy on return in the tie-break to take the lead. In the second set, he raced to the finish and advanced after one hour and 33 minutes by hitting his waterproof groundstrokes forcefully and consistently.
Murray leads Kyrgios 6-1 in their ATP Head2Head series after defeating World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals. The victory extended the Brit's grass-court record to 114-23.
When he meets Italian Matteo Berrettini in the final on Sunday, the 35-year-old will be aiming for his seventh career title on the surface. It will be the pair's third meeting. Murray last won a title on grass in 2016, when he defeated Milos Raonic of Canada in the Wimbledon final.
Following his victory over Kyrgios, the Scot has climbed to No. 47 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. Kyrgios was seeking to reach his first final since 2019 in Washington. Murray is in the Top 50 for the first time since May 2018.
Murray reached the final match in Sydney in January, and his most recent tour-level victory came in Antwerp in 2019.