Del Potro Races Into Acapulco Final
Del Potro Races Into Acapulco Final
Juan Martin del Potro notched his 10th win of the season to reach his second ATP World Tour final of 2018 at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, defeating second seed Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-2.
The World No. 9 produced an impressive performance throughout the one-hour, 31-minute clash, breaking the German on three occasions to move one win away from his 21st ATP World Tour crown. Del Potro has now beaten Top 10 players Zverev and Dominic Thiem, plus four-time champion David Ferrer, in consecutive matches.
The ‘Tower of Tandil’ will face inaugural New York Open champion Kevin Anderson in Saturday’s final. The South African reached his third final of the season after a three-set win over American Jared Donaldson. Del Potro holds a 6-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head series record over Anderson, winning 12 of their previous 14 sets.
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Despite eight aces from Zverev in the first set, it was Del Potro who secured the only break of the opener, in emphatic fashion, to establish control. The ASB Classic finalist (l. to Bautista Agut), broke to love in the third game of the match to take a 2-1 lead, and confidently held each of his next four service games to earn a one-set advantage.
With the freedom of leading the score line, Del Potro found more success on his return in the second set. The 29-year-old found more success on Zverev’s first serve and, again, broke in the third game, before a further break four games later created the opportunity to serve for a place in the championship match. Del Potro raced to a 40-0 lead, before moving into his 31st tour-level final, on his second match point, courtesy of his sixth ace of the match.
Did You Know?
The last time Juan Martin del Potro won back-to-back matches over Top 10 opposition was at the 2017 US Open. Del Potro beat Dominic Thiem and Roger Federer to reach the semi-finals, before falling to eventual champion Rafael Nadal. Nadal advanced to the championship match where he met Del Potro’s final opponent in Acapulco; Kevin Anderson.