Argentina’s Just Martin del Potro has capped off a dream week at the Mexican Open with a comprehensive 6-4, 6-4, win over Kevin Anderson.
The 29-year-old valiantly fought off some stern resistance from his opponent by outperforming him in almost every aspect of the match. Del Potro sealed victory with the help of 26 winners compared to only 15 unforced errors. A slight improvement on Anderson’s 25 and 18. Furthermore, the former US Open champion didn’t face a single break point as he capitalized on Anderson’s below-par second serve, which recorded a 42% success rate (11/26).
“From the beginning until the end it has been an incredible week. I’ve had a bit of luck in the whole tournament and fortunately I was able to win.” Del Potro said following the win.
On route to his first ATP 500 title since the 2013 Swiss Indoors, Del Potro managed to record three consecutive wins over top 10 players. Prior to Anderson, he also managed to get the better of Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem. It is the first time he has managed to achieve the triple since the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals.
“It’s a very special tournament to me. I beat three Top 10 guys in the same tournament, which is very important for myself. I’m so glad to win my 21st title playing in Acapulco,” Del Potro said.
As a result of his latest victory, the Argentine will break back into the top eight of the Emirates rankings for the first time since July 2014 on Monday. Also guaranteeing him a top eight seeding at the upcoming BNP Paribas Masters in Indian Wells.
Victory for @delpotrojuan!
The Argentinian is champion in Acapulco 6-4 6-4 over Anderson.#AMT2018 pic.twitter.com/RcsoKL363P
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 4 March 2018
Runner-up Anderson also exits the tournament in an upbeat mood. Acapulco was his third ATP final of the season out of four tournaments played. Last week he triumphed at the New York Open by defeating Sam Querrey in the final.
“I can take a lot of confidence going into Indian Wells and Miami, two tournaments I really enjoy playing. I feel like I’m playing really good tennis,” Anderson told atpworldtour.com. “As always, I’ll pick myself up. I’ll try to learn as much as I can from tonight’s match.”
Del Potro now leads Anderson 7-0 in their head-to-head.
