Sam Querrey really plays well in Acapulco. The American was a semi-finalist here last year, but the American has gone at least one better in 2017, reaching the final after a comeback win over Nick Kyrgios 36 61 75 in the Mexican Open.
Querrey had defeated David Goffin in the second round, and then the player who had defeated him in last year’s semis, and defending champion, Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals.
His match with Nick Kyrgios was always going to be unpredictable after the tenacious Australian admitted he had no problems getting motivated for matches against the likes of Novak Djokovic. With Querrey ranked far lower, it was not surprising that Kyrgios was not as able to replicate the best of his form that had seen him defeat the World No.2
That being said, the Aussie did play one great set, blasting past Querrey in the first. It went downhill quickly from there though, as Querrey stepped up more aggressively in the second, taking the ball earlier and really denying Kyrgios time. The result was a dominant set for the American that saw Kyrgios win just one game.
To his credit, Kyrgios did meet Querrey for a much closer deciding set, but a late break for the American did not give the Aussie anytime to recover, and Querrey will play for the Acapulco title.
His opponent in that final will be Rafael Nadal, after the Spaniard defeated Marin Cilic. The semi-final may have gone with seeding, seeing the second seed take on the third. However, the match was very one-sided, as Cilic’s poor-form coming into this event re-surfaced, and Nadal would lose just three games in a 61 62 win. Nadal was playing like the champion of old, using his forehand with supreme confidence that was lacking in 2016, and the former US Open champion Cilic simply could not cope with the barrage of top spin shots.
Interestingly, for a pair of players who have been on tour for so long, Querrey and Nadal have only met four times. Nadal has won all of the meetings, though he has never managed to put Querrey away in straight sets on a hard court. They have only met once on the tour in the last nine years, with that meeting won by Nadal in straight sets on clay in Madrid last year. Since then though, Querrey has made a first grand slam quarter-final. Querrey also has the type of game in big-serving and big forehands that has traditionally troubled Nadal, particularly on a hard-court.
Querrey has defeated three Top 20 players to get to this stage already, but Nadal must be considered the favourite, and Querrey must play very aggressively if he is to have a chance.
