De Minaur Wins Biggest Career Title With Another Acapulco Comeback

For the second straight night in Acapulco, Alex de Minaur stormed back after losing the opening set against a red-hot opponent. On Saturday, his effort against Tommy Paul earned him the seventh and biggest title of his career at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

The Australian claimed his first ATP 500 crown with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory, his endless stamina and staying power again making the difference in the Acapulco humidity.

After methodically working his way back into the match in set two, De Minaur landed what proved to be a decisive blow by saving five break points in a marathon five-deuce game to open the final set. When De Minaur fought off those chances with a combination of big serves and steely baseline play, Paul could not recover as the Aussie rattled off seven straight games.

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Both De Minaur and Paul played physical, three-set semi-finals that ended less than 24 hours before the final, with De Minaur's comeback win against Holger Rune finishing near 3 a.m. But those previous exertions were not apparent in a high-quality match Saturday night — until Paul showed signs of wear late, with De Minaur adding to his torment with a slew of drop shots.

Paul started brightly after his three-hour, 25-minute win against World No. 5 Taylor Fritz, keeping tight to the baseline and pulling De Minaur around the court to secure an early break. But the match began to turn when the Aussie escaped a 0/30 hole to go up 3-2 in the second.

As De Minaur began to take the intiaitive in the rallies, he secured his first break on his sixth break point of the match in the following game — only for Paul to snap back and level at 4-4. Still, the tenor of the match had changed, and De Minaur made it count with another break in the game's final set.

While the Aussie dominated the final set, Paul battled until the end, saving two match points and getting on the board with a hold at 5-0. But there would be no stopping De Minaur from becoming the second Australian champion in Acapulco, after Nick Kyrgios' 2019 triumph.

More to follow...

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/i8knbfa