5 milestones Andy Murray reached by progressing to the 2022 Stuttgart Open final

Andy Murray has made a fantastic start to his grass court season. A day after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas to clinch his first Top 5 win since 2016, the two-time Wimbledon champion upended Nick Kyrgios to move to the finals in the ATP 250 tourney in Stuttgart.

Murray is steadily improving heading to the third Major of the year as he bettered his semifinal finish in the Surbiton Trophy Challenger last week.

Here are the milestones achieved by the former World No. 1 in his victory over Kyrgios:

1) Andy Murray advanced to his first grass-court final since Wimbledon 2016

Hampered by two hip surgeries, Andy Murray is back to the championship stage on his favored surface. He improved to a 114-23 record or an 83.21 winning percentage on grass.

He last made it to the finals on the surface six years ago at Wimbledon, which he eventually won. Incidentally, the former World No. 1 also beat Kyrgios in the quarterfinals in his run to the championship then. He defeated Milos Raonic in straight sets to raise his second trophy in the event.

Against Kyrgios in Stuttgart, Murray fired nine aces, just two less than his big-serving opponent. The 35-year-old Briton also won 85 percent of his first serve points and 54 percent of his second serve while saving all two break points he faced, both in the tightly contested first set.

Murray came back from 0-30 in the eleventh game of the opener to hold. He then came through a close battle in the tiebreak before cruising in the second.

2) Andy Murray reached his 70th tour-level final, 10th on grass

By knocking out Kyrgios, Murray advanced to his 70th tour-level final where he keeps a 46-23 slate. He will face Matteo Berrettini in his 10th final on grass where he boasts a 8-1 record.

Interestingly, Berrettini also likes the surface, notching a victory over Murray at Queen's Club to even their head-to-head, 1-1, last year. The Italian lifted the trophy in Stuttgart in his debut in 2019 and reached his first Grand Slam final at the 2021 Wimbledon.

3) Andy Murray trails just Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the most finals reached on grass since 2015

Murray is in a three-way tie with finals opponent Berrettini and 2014 US Open champ Marin Cilic with their four finals appearances on grass since 2015. Only Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have more with eight and six, respectively.

Murray reached the finals of the 2015 and 2016 Queen's Club and the 2016 Wimbledon, winning all three, before returning to the championship stage in Stuttgart.

Meanwhile, his foe Berrettini reached the finals in 2019 Stuttgart and the 2021 Queen's Club, taking the trophy both times, and at Wimbledon last year prior to his upcoming title clash with Murray.

4) Andy Murray returns to the Top 50 for the first time since May 2018

Murray moved up 21 spots to No. 47 in the live ATP ranking, marking his re-entry to the Top 50 for the first time since May 2018.

The former World No. 1 upped his record this season to 16-8 as he advanced to his second final of the year. He battled for the Sydney trophy against eventual champion Aslan Karatsev in January. Murray is eyeing his first title since 2019.

5) Andy Murray improves his head-to-head with Nick Kyrgios to 6-1

Murray picked up his sixth win in seven encounters over World No. 78 Kyrgios as he bounced back from a loss in their previous encounter at Queen's Club in 2018. The Briton won their first five meetings.