Zverev Continues De Minaur Dominance In Acapulco

Alexander Zverev continues to have Alex de Minaur’s number. The German improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head against the #NextGenATP Aussie to 4-0 with a convincing 6-4, 6-4 win on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

“We played three times last year and we’re going to play many more times in the future. He’s a great young player with a lot of potential,” said Zverev. “It’s never easy to play him, especially after last night (vs. Ferrer), which was a very emotional match for me and the crowd. I’m happy to get through.”

The second seed is through to the last four in Acapulco for the second straight year. He hasn’t dropped a set in three matches this week and has been especially impressive on serve. Zverev fired 13 aces and won 91 per cent (29/32) of first-serve points against de Minaur, requiring a single break in each set to advance in 75 minutes.

Although de Minaur is off to an impressive start this season, including winning his first title last month at the Sydney International (d. Seppi) and building an 11-3 record overall, he is now 0-11 against Top 10 players. 

Next up for Zverev is Brit Cameron Norrie, who reached his first ATP 500 semi-final by easing past American Mackenzie McDonald 6-3, 6-2. McDonald was far from his best and finished the day with 13 winners to 35 unforced errors, but Norrie avoided complicating matters by saving all four break points he faced. The Brit, a runner-up last month at the ASB Classic (l. to Sandgren), improves to 8-4 this season.

“I was nervous. It was a big opportunity for both of us, but I played really solid today. I got a lot of rhythm from my match yesterday against Diego [Schwartzman] and I’m really stoked to get into my first [ATP 500] semi-final,” said Norrie. “I’ve got nothing to lose tomorrow and all the pressure is on [Zverev].”