Alex de Minaur into Mexico Open final amid brutal top 10 reality

Alex de Minaur is into the final of the Mexican Open in Acapulco but there’s more than just a trophy on the line in the match against Casper Ruud.

Tennis is a brutal sport. Photo by Rodrigo Oropeza / AFP

Defending champion Alex de Minaur booked a return to the Acapulco ATP final on Friday as Jack Draper retired while trailing in the third set of their semi-final.

Australia’s de Minaur will battle for the title on Saturday with sixth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway, who rallied to beat second-seeded Holger Rune of Denmark 3-6 6-3 6-4.

Stream Over 50 Sports Live & On-Demand with Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >

Third-seeded de Minaur was up 6-3 2-6 4-0 when Draper called it a day due to an undisclosed illness.

The Aussie admitted he’d found it hard to maintain his game plan as Britain’s Draper faded.

“I think those are the types of situations which are the hardest to control as a player, because you’re stuck in two minds,” de Minaur said.

“One mind is, all right, you can see your opponent hurting. So let’s just try and put the ball in the court and make him just miss.

“What you really have to do is play the same style of tennis that you were that got you to that stage. So it’s extremely hard to focus in those situations, and often these are the matches that can complicate themselves.”

The win sees de Minaur become the first player to make back-to-back finals in Acapulco since David Ferrer in 2012-13 and the first since it became a hard court after previously being a clay tournament.

Incredibly, de Minaur could drop out of the top 10 with a loss after winning last year.

De Minaur could drop out of the top 10 with a loss in the final. Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

It will also be Ruud’s second straight final against an Aussie after he lost to Jordan Thompson at last week’s Los Cabos Open.

De Minaur has proven to be a giant-killer this year, having defeated Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Grigor Dimitrov in tournaments this season.

He’s also won all six of the semi-finals he’s reached since the start of 2023.

Draper, who had dropped just 11 games in three matches to reach the semis, was piling on the pressure when he received treatment from the ATP trainer and tournament doctor late in the second set.

The left-hander was able to level the match, but he was hindered early in the third as de Minaur raced to a 4-0 lead, and Draper called a halt after he was broken a second time.

De Minaur said he wished Draper a “speedy recovery.”

“He’s a hell of a player, a hell of a talent and I hope it’s nothing too serious,” said de Minaur, who is coming off a runner-up finish to Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner in Rotterdam.

Ruud battled back from a break down in the third set, taking advantage when Rune appeared to be slowed by cramping.

“Some unforced errors crept up on him and I served really well in the last game to close it out,” Ruud said.