Juan Martin del Potro has reached his second ATP semifinal of the season after defeating Dominic Thiem 6-2, 7-6(7), at the Acapulco Open in Mexico.
The world No.9, who has never lost to Thiem on the tour, dropped his serve only once during his clash with the third seed. Hitting 23 winners as well as 23 unforced errors. In contrast, Thiem struggled to minimise his mistakes as he produced 32 unforced errors.
It wasn’t until the closing stages of the match where Del Potro encountered a blip. Leading by a set and 5-4, he was unable to serve the match out as Thiem levelled 5-5. Nevertheless, the Argentine held his nerve to prevail in a roller coaster tiebreaker.
“I am very happy to reach my first semifinal in Acapulco. It was another great match, especially in the second set.” Del Potro said following the match.
Del Potro will next take on Alexander Zverev. The German second seed dropped only five games during his 6-4, 6-1, triumph over Ryan Harrison in just 68 minutes. Zverev, who will play in his first semifinal of the season, dropped just five points behind his first serve and he broke his American rival four times.
“I was very happy with how I played,” said Zverev. “I’m starting to play very well again, and that’s all that matters for me.”
The upcoming match will be the second meeting between Del Potro and Zverev. Their first occurred last year at the Shanghai Masters where the Argentinian triumphed in three sets. Targeting a place in his second tour final of the season, Del Potro admits that he will have his work cut out against Zverev.
“It’s been a super complicated picture, really hard for me. It is rare to play against a Top-10 in the quarterfinals of an ATP 500. Semifinal against Zverev is also rare, that marks the good level that there is in the tournament.” He explained.
“It will be a very difficult game. But I hope to enjoy (it).”
The other semifinal in Acapulco will see US Open finalist Kevin Anderson take on underdog Jared Donaldson. Anderson, who recently won the New York Open, hit 18 aces during his 7-6(5), 6-4, win over South Korea’s Hyeon Chung. He has now reached the semifinal stage in three out of his last four tournaments.
“I felt the first set was really touch and go,” Anderson said. “I had to save quite a few break points. I felt I played some of my best tennis down on those break points.”
Meanwhile, Donaldson produced a serving masterclass in his 6-3, 6-1, win over Feliciano Lopez. The world No.59 dropped just two points behind his serve. Heading to the last four, Donaldson has only dropped 12 games in the entire tournament.
