STATS Perform/dpa
Alex de Minaur secured his first ATP 500 title on Saturday after coming from behind to defeat Tommy Paul 3-6 6-4 6-1 in the Mexican Open final.
It was a tremendous week in Acapulco for the Australian, having eliminated world number 10 Holger Rune in the semi-final en route to his seventh title overall, with the first six all at the ATP 250 level.
Against Paul, De Minaur blew a pair of break points in the opening set, and then gave up the break in the very next game, allowing the American to serve things out safely to take the first frame.
But mistakes started to creep into Paul’s game the longer the match went. After landing 75 per cent of his first serves fair in the opener and avoiding any double-faults, Paul’s first serve percentage dropped to 46 in the second, and he committed a pair of doubles.
He committed another two double-faults in the decider to hand De Minaur the early break, and his play from the baseline also deteriorated, hitting just six winners to go with 14 unforced errors.
Known for his resilience, De Minaur had to save five break points to hold serve in the opening game of the third set, but he held his nerve, and churned out five consecutive games as Paul ran out of gas.
The 500 ranking points will see the Aussie climb to 18th in the world, with his career-best mark of 15th now within reach.
Meanwhile, the fairytale continued for Nicolas Jarry at the Chile Open, with the Santiago-born talent electrifying his home crowd with a 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 semi-final victory over Jaume Munar.
Jarry will get a chance for the second ATP title of his career, and the first since 2019, when he meets Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the final.
Etcheverry emerged victorious 7-5 6-3 in an all-Argentine showdown against third seed Sebastian Baez, earning his first final appearance at this level.
