In the semi-final on Friday, Tommy Paul, seeded N.7, first got the better of his compatriot Taylor Fritz (N.3), after a meeting of more than three hours, concluded in three sets including two tie-breaks 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/2). As for de Minaur (N.8), he also needed three sets to overcome, in the middle of the Mexican night, the Norwegian Holger Rune (N.4), 3-6, 7-5, 6 -2.
Current 23rd player in the world, Paul, 25, got off to an ideal start and even looked like he was heading for a rather quick win in straight sets, getting match point. But Fritz, 5th in the ATP rankings, managed to reverse the trend and force his compatriot to a 3rd set.
“It was a real fight, it wasn’t always a cakewalk, but it’s still an incredible match,” reacted the winner, after a meeting that set a new duration record in Acapulco (3:25 ).
De Minaur and Rune, 22nd and 10th respectively at the ATP, were barely faster in a half second that lasted 2h48 minutes and ended at three o’clock in the morning.
It was the Norwegian who got off to the best start, winning the first set 6-3, but the Australian then found the resources to equalize at one set everywhere, before taking the lead 3-0 in the final set. Victim of cramps, Rune did not manage to make up for this delay.
“I worked a lot off the courts, and few are as prepared as me to play such long games”, welcomed Minaur who, at 24, is looking for a seventh title on the circuit – the last in Atlanta in 2022.
Tommy Paul will be looking to win a second title, after the one won in Stockholm in 2021.
So far, de Minaur has won all three encounters between the two players.