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 battling 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory, his heart and staying power again making the difference in the Acapulco humidity.

“It feels great, it feels amazing,” De Minaur said just before the trophy ceremony. “I know the hard work that’s put in to be here and it’s good to see the results. It’s not always that you win the tournament and you get to finish a week unbeaten, so I’ll definitely cherish this going into Indian Wells and Miami.”

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.

“Just to kind of stay in the match, especially in the second set… I just dug deep, managed to scrap my way through it,” the 24-year-old said of the turnaround. “And then the first game of the third set was exactly like my semi-final against Holger [Rune]. So I had that in the back of my mind, I just told myself to keep pushing. If I could keep pushing myself and get out of that game, the momentum was going to switch. I’m very happy I was able to get out of that.”

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 in the two-hour, 27-minute contest, 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 set’s final game.

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.

De Minaur moved up four places to No. 18 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Ranking this week, leaving him three spots off his career high of No. 15.

“Like everything in my career, it’s been step by step,” he said of his return to the Top 20. “I just want to keep pushing, keep getting the most out of myself. I know I might not play unbelievable tennis every day but I know I’m going to fight to the end.

“I’ve got a whole lot of heart in this little body of mine and I enjoy competing, so I’m very happy with it.”

Paul, just over a month since his run to the Australian Open semi-finals, is also set to return to the Top 20. He moved up four places to No. 19 this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. The 25-year-old was seeking his second tour-level title (Stockholm 2021) in his second final.

After being two points from defeat in their opening match at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler finished the week with another dramatic win to claim the doubles title in Acapulco. It is the third ATP Tour title for the team and their first outside of their native Austria.

The Austrians edged Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 7-6(9), 7-6(3) in Saturday’s final, saving six set points in the opening set and another in the second.

“It feels great,” said the 26-year-old Miedler. “After winning both titles in Austria, that was our next goal, to win one somewhere else. Mexico will always be in our hearts.”

After missing out on a set point at 5-4 in the first set, Erler/Miedler erased a 2/6 deficit in the tie-break and fought off two further set points at 8/9 before claiming the set. They denied Lammons/Withrow as the Americans attempted to serve out the second set at 5-4, saving a set point at 40/40, and never trailed in the second tie-break.

With the victory, the Austrians extended their perfect record in ATP Tour finals to 3-0. They improved to 20-13 overall and 9-6 on the 2023 season. 

“We are really happy. It was a great week,” said Erler, 25. “We’re improving on and off the court. It feels really special and we hope to come back next year.”

One for the memories 🏆

Erler and Miedler pose with their trophies in sombreros!@abiertotelcel #AMT2023 pic.twitter.com/TFTB8p02eI

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 5, 2023

To reach the Acapulco final, the unseeded champions upset third seeds Jamie Murray and Michael Venus in the first round and top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski in the semis, both in Match Tie-breaks. The pair, which ended the 2022 season at No. 36 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Teams Rankings, won its previous titles on home soil Kitzbuhel (2021) and Vienna (2022). 

Both Erler and Miedler moved up 14 spots this week in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Live Rankings, to No. 42 and No. 43, respectively. Both men are set for new career highs on Monday in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings.

Asked about their greatest strength as a team, Erler spoke about the pair’s complementary games and personalities.

“We are completely different on and off the court,” he said. “I think everybody who knows us knows that we are two [different] types of people but that obviously fits very good together. Probably that’s our best strength, that if we have some weaknesses the other guy can cover it.”

Lammons/Withrow fell to 1-4 in finals as a team, having won the 2022 San Diego title on home soil. The 29-year-olds ended last season at No. 32 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings.

Andrea Pellegrino and Andrea Vavassori won a dramatic doubles final on Saturday to claim the Movistar Chile Open title in their team debut. The Italians saved a match point at 9/10 in a Match Tie-break before closing out a 6-4, 3-6, 12-10 victory against Thiago Seyboth Wild and Matias Soto.

A single break of serve decided both sets before Pellegrino/Vavassori battled back from 0/3 in the Match Tie-break, building an 8/5 lead and ultimately clinching victory on their second match point.

“It was incredible winning with one of my closest friends,” the 27-year-old Vavassori said after claiming his second tour-level title. “We are like brothers, so winning a title like this is something special. We worked a lot with my coach and also with my father in the past three months.”

Pellegrino, 25, won his first ATP Tour trophy in his first final.

“Like Andrea says, it’s incredible to be here with an ATP title,” he reflected. “Winning an ATP title with him is really emotional. I’m really happy for that. This tournament is very nice, they treat us unbelievably. The organisation is something special and I hope to come back next year.”

Discussing the back-and-forth finish to the final, he added: “We were a little bit tight but in doubles it’s like that with the no-ad and the Match Tie-break in the third set. The matches are very close so you have to be there every point. We were a little bit lucky at the end but we are happy for the title.”

Wild cards Seyboth Wild and Soto were also making their team debut this week. After winning three Match Tie-breaks to reach what was a first tour-level doubles final for both, the Brazilian/Chilean pair fell just short on the fourth occasion.

The 22-year-old Seyboth Wild, the 2020 Santiago singles champion, was seeking to become the first player win both the singles and doubles title at the ATP 250. Soto, 23, made his tour-level debut this week on home soil.

Tomas Martin Etcheverry continued his breakout week in Santiago by notching his second Top 50 win in three days at the Movistar Chile Open. In Saturday’s semi-finals, the 23-year-old defeated third seed and fellow Argentine Sebastian Baez 7-5, 6-3 to advance to his first ATP Tour title match.

“Really I can’t believe it,” Etcheverry said of the milestone moment. “This is a dream for me, for my family, for my friends, all the people that helped me to reach my goals. This is amazing. Just [will try] to enjoy tomorrow. That’s the key for my first final.”

Playing in his first tour-level semi-final, Etcheverry did not face a break point. In a tight opening set, the World No. 76 created the first break points of the match at 0/40 with Baez serving to force a tie-break, ultimately securing the set on his fifth set point. Etcheverry needed only one break point in the second, in its fourth game, to claim a decisive advantage.

“It was incredible today. Also like yesterday,” said Etcheverry, who lost three games in his Friday quarter-fnal win against Dusan Lajovic. “It was my first semi-final today so I tried to play aggressive, the same like in the other matches. Right now I feel a lot of confidence that I can play like this. Hopefully tomorrow I continue like this because I’ve been playing at a good level this week.”

Etcheverry earned the second Top 50 win of his career against second seed Francisco Cerundolo, another Argentine, on Thursday. He will face an unseeded opponent in the final: either Spain’s Jaume Munar or Chile’s Nicolas Jarry.

Already up 16 places to No. 60 this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, Etcheverry would enter the Top 50 by winning his first ATP Tour trophy on Sunday. No matter the result in the title match, he will reach a new career-high on Monday in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Daniil Medvedev completed an ATP Tour hat-trick Saturday when he overcame Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-2 to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The third seed, who ended Novak Djokovic’s unbeaten start to the season in the semi-finals, produced a consistent performance throughout the 68-minute clash to extend his winning streak to 14 matches. Having lifted trophies in Rotterdam and Doha in February, Medvedev is the third player to win three titles in as many weeks since 2021, joining Casper Ruud (July 2021) and Felix Auger-Aliassime (October 2022).

“It is amazing because at the start of the year, it was not perfect. In tennis when you don’t win matches you have doubts. Now it just feels better,” Medvedev said. “I was really happy with these three weeks and I am looking forward to the next ones.”

The 27-year-old’s strong hard-court form has lifted him to No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, rising above Rublev, who drops to No. 7. With his Tour-leading 19th win of the season, Medvedev improved to 5-2 in his ATP Head2Head series against the 25-year-old Rublev.

“It was very tactical [match],” Medvedev said. “I know Andrey can cause a lot of trouble to everyone on Tour. Every time we play he tries to make me suffer, I try to make him suffer. Today I managed to be on top, but the next match could be a different story.”

Top 5: Win-Loss Record 2023

Following his 18th tour-level title, Medvedev will next compete at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he will be looking to continue his winning run. The former World No. 1 is six victories from equalling his career-best winning streak on the ATP Tour, having earned 20 consecutive victories from November 2020 to January 2021.

Medvedev entered the final having not dropped a set all week and he played with confidence against Rublev to frustrate the second seed. The 27-year-old committed just two unforced errors in the first set as he sat deep behind the baseline to soak up Rublev’s aggressive hitting.

3 in a row for @DaniilMedwed 🏆🏆🏆#ShotQuality and more #ShotQuality on display 👏

A 9.5 #ShotQuality on return occurs in less than 0.3% of matches on the @atptour #TennisInsight | @DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/2czXZlg72W

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) March 4, 2023

After clinching the opener, Medvedev continued to find the perfect balance between defence and attack. He turned the tables in the baseline exchanges with his precise crosscourt forehand, breaking twice in the second set to seal his victory.

The 2022 champion Rublev was aiming to become the third repeat titlist at the ATP 500 event in Dubai, alongside Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Did You Know?
Medvedev has won his 18 tour-level titles in 18 different cities. He is the first man in the Open Era to accomplish the feat.

Maxime Cressy and Fabrice Martin capped their debut week as a team in style Saturday when they defeated third seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara 7-6(2), 6-4 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The American-French tandem rallied from a break down in the first set, while they hit 14 aces and saved both break points they faced to triumph after one hour and 25 minutes at the ATP 500 event.

Teaming for the first time this week, Cressy and Martin defeated Australian Open finalists Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski in the first round, before moving past Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop and Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen.

The Dubai title is Cressy’s first tour-level doubles crown. The 25-year-old lifted his maiden ATP Tour singles title in Newport last year. It is Martin’s eighth tour-level trophy but first since 2021, when he triumphed with Nicolas Mahut in Antwerp.

Third seeds Glasspool and Heliovaara were aiming to capture their second title of the season as a team, having clinched the crown in Adelaide in January. The British-Finn pair did not drop a set en route to the final.

After storming through the first three rounds with the loss of eight games, Alex de Minaur had to do it the hard way against Holger Rune in the Acapulco semi-finals.

In a match that started on Friday night and carried on until nearly 3 a.m., the Aussie outlasted his opponent in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. While Rune was electric in the early stages, he struggled physically in the final set as De Minaur’s staying power pushed through the finish line after two hours and 48 minutes.

“It feels great. It feels like I deserved it,” the Aussie said after advancing to his 11th ATP Tour final, where he will face Tommy Paul. “I hung in there, I stayed tough.

“[I had to] stay with him. It’s not easy because he’s a hell of a player. He was hitting me off the court at times and not letting me really do much. But I managed to save a couple of crucial break points and keep giving myself chances… I took the one chance I [converted] and rolled with it.”

Watch the Acapulco final at 4 a.m. CET/10 p.m. ET

Rune’s big hitting dominated the opening set, though the Dane still needed to fight off four break points to consolidate an early break to move 4-1 ahead. He closed the set in style with an aggressive net approach, the power play providing a fitting end to the first set.

De Minaur began to sink his teeth into the match in set two, dragging Rune into longer rallies and winning the lion’s share of the extended exchanges. Despite plenty of break chances — six for De Minaur and four for Rune in the set — the decider was on the verge of a tie-break before the Aussie scored his first break to clinch the set, converting on his 10th break point of the match.

Rune began to struggle physically in the final set as the Acapulco humidity took its toll, and De Minaur took full advantage. While Rune fought through cramps and began hitting even bigger to shorten the points, De Minaur continued to move him around the court. A late surge from Rune was not enough to turn the tide as De Minaur progressed to his first final since he won the Atlanta title last July.

“I know I can go for a very long time so I’m happy with the work I do,” De Minaur said of his fitness level. “It just shows that I can do this for a while.”

By beating the World No. 10, De Minaur earned his third Top 10 win of the season (also def. Nadal, Rublev) and his 10th overall. He also improved to 11-7 in tour-level semi-finals by earning his first win in three ATP Head2Head matchups with Rune.

The Dane, who was seeking his fifth final since late September, can take solace in the fact that his semi-final run moved him up two places to No 8 this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. Guaranteed to maintain that position at week’s end, the 19-year-old will reach a new career-high on Monday in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

De Minaur is back into the Top 20 behind his final run after a rising three spots to No. 19 this week. The winner of Saturday’s final between De Minaur and Paul will enter Indian Wells as the World No. 18.

“He’s playing some great tennis. Just look at his results here,” De Minaur said of the American. “It’s going to be a great match. I’m looking forward to a battle and to just go out there and leave it all out there. There’s not much else you can do. Enjoy the moment.”

Nearly two hours after his first match point, Tommy Paul overcame longtime friend Taylor Fritz in one of the most dramatic matches of the 2023 season Friday night in Acapulco. Paul’s 6-3, 6-7(2), 7-6(2) victory had a bit of everything, the three-hour, 25-minute odyssey setting the record for longest match in the 30-year history of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Paul said after clinching the semi-final victory on his fourth match point. “Obviously looking forward to making the body feel a little better tomorrow. The goal for this year was to get the ranking up and get more trophies. I only have one trophy on Tour between singles and doubles.

“You don’t get trophies unless your in the final, and hopefully I can play another good match tomorrow and get the winner’s trophy.”

After letting a match point slip on serve at 5-4 in the second set, missing a deep overhead off the bounce, Paul needed a comeback of his own, trailing 0-2 and 1-3 in the third. In a battle of attrition, both men saved break points in their final service games — Fritz erasing two match points at 5-6 — before Paul closed it out after taking a 5/0 lead in the final tie-break.

“You have to [dig deep]. It’s never going to be easy against Fritz, he’s unreal,” the seventh-seeded Paul added. “He doesn’t give you any points throughout the whole match, you feel like you have to work for everything.

“Obviously he got up a break in the third there and it was weird, I started feeling my body a little bit and doing some weird serves, and I don’t know if he loved it. And then I think something happened with his stomach too. I think I got a little lucky there that we were both struggling, not just me.”

Just over one month since his breakout run to the Australian Open semi-finals, Paul advanced the biggest final of his blossoming career, his first at the ATP 500 level. The 25-year-old won his lone previous title match in 2021 at the Stockholm ATP 250. He is up five spots to No. 18 this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings — a mark which would match his career high.

Paul, who earned his 100th tour-level win by beating Michael Mmoh in the Acapulco second round, will face fourth seed Holger Rune or eighth seed Alex de Minaur in Saturday’s final.

Third seed Fritz saw his seven-match win streak come to a close, a run that dated back to his Delray Beach title triumph. He remains at No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings after reaching the Top 5 for the first time on Monday, though Andrey Rublev could pass him by winning the Dubai final against Daniil Medvedev on Saturday.

The ATP Head2Head series between Paul and Fritz is now level at 2-2, but the pair first matched up in 2011 at the USTA Boys’ 14s National Championships, which Paul won at age 14. They also met twice in junior Grand Slam finals, with Paul winning at Roland Garros and Fritz claiming the title at the 2015 US Open.