Alex de Minaur, the defending champion, went to the Mexican Open final after Jack Draper retired in the third set on Friday. The third-seeded Australian won the first set 6-3, lost the second 6-2, and was up 4-0 in the third when Draper, severely depleted physically, retired.
Alex De Minaur will face Casper Ruud, who shocked second-seeded Holger Rune 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the late encounter.
“I’m pleased to be in the final, but I hope Jack is doing well. He has tremendous talent, and hopefully he will be able to recover for the upcoming tournaments,” de Minaur added. “It’s hard to play when your opponent is not OK physically, but you need to remain focused.” Also read: Czech Tennis Boss Stays In Detention Amid Fraud Investigation
De Minaur, 25, won his tenth consecutive match in Mexico, becoming the first defending champion to reach the Acapulco final since David Ferrer in 2013.
De Minaur has won seven ATP titles in his career, the most recent coming last year in Acapulco. Draper, from England, was in his first ATP 500 semifinal.
Later, in the other semifinal, Ruud dropped the first set and was down 3-1 in the third with Rune serving, but he broke twice and held his serve to win.
“I did not get the best start, and the third set looked really bad, I just tried to stay in there and it seemed like Holger was struggling and at the end it worked for me,” he said.
The 25-year-old Norwegian will be attempting to win his tenth career title, his first on the ATP 500. Rune, ranked seventh on the ATP, lost in the Acapulco semifinals for the second consecutive year.