Alex de Minaur has won a three-set battle against world No.10 Holger Rune to advance to the Acapulco singles final.
Acapulco, Mexico, 4 March 2023 | Leigh Rogers
Acapulco, Mexico
Alex de Minaur has defeated world No.10 Holger Rune to earn his place in the Acapulco singles final.
The eighth-seeded Australian edged out a 3-6 7-5 6-2 victory against the 19-year-old Dane in a late-night semifinal battle at the ATP 500 tournament.
De Minaur proved clutch under pressure, saving seven of the eight break points he faced, in a physical encounter that took two hours and 48 minutes to complete and ended at close to 3am local time.
“It feels great. It feels like I deserved it,” De Minaur said. “I hung in there, I stayed tough.
“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.”
Demon prevails 💪@alexdeminaur outlasts Holger Rune to reach his 11th ATP final, 3-6 7-5 6-2. @AbiertoTelcel #AMT2023 pic.twitter.com/OpkFlLyriq
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 4, 2023
This is De Minaur’s third top-10 victory of the season and propels the world No.22 into his 11th career ATP singles final.
The 24-year-old is now aiming to win the seventh – and biggest – ATP singles title of his career.
This marks De Minaur’s third final appearance at ATP 500 level. He has previously finished runner-up at Washington in 2018 and Basel in 2019.
De Minaur will face American Tommy Paul for the title. The Australian Open 2023 semifinalist scored a three-set win against world No.5 Taylor Fritz in the other semifinal.
De Minaur owns an unbeaten record against world No.23 Paul, triumphing in all three of their meetings last season.
“It’s going to be a great match,” De Minaur said. “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.”
Aussies in action – Acapulco
RESULTS
Men’s singles, semifinals
[8] Alex de Minaur (AUS) d [4] Holger Rune (DEN) 3-6 7-5 6-2
COMING UP
Men’s singles, final
[8] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v [7] Tommy Paul (USA)
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