Cincinnati Open: Grigor Dimitrov wins first Masters 1000 title

Dimitrov won his seventh career ATP title, and third of the year, on Sunday

Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov won his first Masters 1000 title by beating Australia's Nick Kyrgios in straight sets in the Cincinnati Open final.

World number 11 Dimitrov, 26, broke once in each set to beat his 22-year-old opponent, ranked 23rd, 6-4 7-5.

Kyrgios, also attempting to win his first Masters 1000 title, hit 31 unforced errors as he was outplayed.

In the women's final, Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza thrashed Romania's Simona Halep 6-1 6-0.

Kyrgios was the youngest Cincinnati finalist since Novak Djokovic in 2009.

But he could not reproduce the brilliance he displayed in beating world number two Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals.

And, with the second set poised at 5-5, the Australian hit his fourth double fault of the match on deuce, before sending a wild forehand over the baseline.

Dimitrov served out the final game to clinch the biggest win of his career as he prepares for the US Open, which starts on 28 August.

"In the big picture, it means a lot to me," said Dimitrov, who went through the tournament without dropping a set. "I'm pretty confident after that. This is what I've been practising for.

"I'm going to enjoy it for a day or two but then it's back to the routine and prepare for the US Open."

Halep 'sorry' after heavy defeat

Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza beat world number one Karolina Pliskova in the semi-final

Earlier in the day, Spain's Muguruza put in an emphatic performance to see off world number two Halep.

Had she won, Halep would have replaced Karolina Pliskova at the top of the world rankings - but the 25-year-old was beaten in just 57 minutes.

After beating Britain's Johanna Konta in the quarter-final, Halep hit 20 unforced errors and struggled to find any rhythm.

Czech Pliskova, a semi-final loser to Muguruza, will remain world number one by a five-point margin over Halep as Muguruza moves up to third.

"I played so badly and she played so well. I am sorry for this match," Halep said.

"I got dominated. I couldn't control the points, that's why I got down in my confidence."

Muguruza said she felt "a little bit bad" for Halep but was "happy" to now be seen as the favourite for the US Open title.

She added: "It doesn't always happen that you win a tournament and then go ahead and win a Grand Slam, but I'm happy to have the confidence - it beats not having it."

Meanwhile, Britain's Jamie Murray and Brazilian Bruno Soares lost their men's doubles final to French fifth seeds Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Murray and Soares were beaten 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 in one hour and 37 minutes.

The third seeds, who lost in the second round at Wimbledon, had not dropped a set leading up to the final in Cincinnati.