Nick Kyrgios is on the verge of claiming his maiden ATP Tour career title after crushing world No.8 Tomas Berdych to reach the final of the Marseille Open.
The 20-year-old Australian sent down 15 aces, won 93 per cent of his first-serve points and did not face a break point in the 70-minute, 6-4 6-2 semi-final victory.
Kyrgios' win avenged his Australian Open loss to Berdych last month and was his second consecutive victory over a world top-10 ranked player, after defeating No.10 Richard Gasquet in the quarter-finals.
Sunday's final against Marin Cilic promises to be a powerful affair with Croatian, playing in Marseille for the first time in five years, firing 22 aces to defeat Benoit Paire 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 in their semi-final.
The world No.12 dropped serve only once in the two-hour match to set up only his second meeting with Kyrgios, Cilic winning the previous encounter at the 2013 French Open.
It will be only world No.41 Kyrgios' second ATP Tour final appearance, following the decider in Estoril, Portugal last May when he lost to Gasquet.
A victory in the final would be expected to give Kyrgios a ranking boost of around 10 spots.
The Canberran will no doubt be looking to consolidate a spot in the top 32 by the time the French Open rolls around in May, ensuring he doesn't face a seed in at least the first two rounds of the second grand slam of the year.
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