ACAPULCO, March 4, 2018
Juan Martin del Potro outplayed Kevin Anderson for the seventh time in a row in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, beating the South African 6-4, 6-4 in Saturday’s final to win the 25th edition of the Abierto Mexicano TELCEL presentado por HSBC in Acapulco.
Del Potro struck 12 aces, didn’t face a break point, converting two of his own to prevail after one hour and 40 minutes. It’s the Argetine’s biggest trophy since 2013 Swiss Indoors Basel. The Acapulco title is also Del Potro’s first title of 2018, and he had to fight through a wicked draw, including three Top 10 players, for the crown.
¡Olé, olé, olé, Delpo, Delpo! @delpotrojuan🇦🇷#AMT2018 #CelebratingTennis pic.twitter.com/JzF1J7cNTj
— Abierto Mexicano (@AbiertoTelcel) 4. März 2018
“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,” said Del Potro, who now has 21 tour-level titles and, what might be especially encouraging for him, this title on 3 March is the earliest in a season he’s hoisted a trophy since 2014, when he won the Sydney International on 11 January.
“[Anderson is] a very dangerous guy. His serves are so strong but I got lucky in the important moments of my return games, and I broke just twice and that was the key of the match.”
Anderson, in only his fourth tournament of the year, was already playing in his third final of the season. He was looking to win his second title of the year following his triumph at the New York Open. The 31-year-old Johannesburg native fell to 4-12 in tour-level finals.
“I think [Del Potro] played really well. He’s obviously a tough competitor and a great player. I just needed to do a little bit more today,” Anderson commented.
Murray/Soares Celebrate Milestone Victory
For the second consecutive year, Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares captured their first tour-level title of the season in Acapulco. The British-Brazilian-combination defeated the Bryan Brothers in the doubles final 7-6, 7-5 in one hour and 35 minutes.
Murray/Soares have now won seven tour-level trophies as a team, including back-to-back Acapulco crowns, the first time they have defended a title together since joining forces in January 2016 at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha.
For the 32-year-old Murray, the win marks his 350th doubles match win and his 20th tour-level doubles title.
“The tournament is so difficult. A lot of great teams again coming this year… Just really happy to win, to be successful again,” the Briton told.
“It’s incredible, we are very happy. Another very special week for us in Acapulco. Since the beginning of the week we had a lot of confidence. Also, we had good memories from last year. Today was a great match, there were very small margins. Happy that in the end we played better,” Soares added.
