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Jack Draper’s run in Acapulco has been brought to an end at the semi-final stage of the ATP 500 level event, the Abierto Mexicano Telcel tournament which is more generally known the Mexican Open). by the defending champion Alex de Minaur.
But honestly, I wish him a speedy recovery. He’s a hell of a player, a hell of a talent and I hope it’s nothing too serious Alex de Minaur
The 22-year-old Brit was on the brink of defeat when trailing to the Aussie 6-3 2-6 4-0, when he retired citing an undisclosed ailment after 108-minutes of the match.
“I think those are the types of situations which are the hardest to control as a player, because you’re stuck in two minds,” De Minaur said following his opponent’s withdrawal. “One mind is, alright, you can see your opponent hurting. So let’s just try and put the ball in the court and make him just miss.
“What you really have to do is play the same style of tennis that you were that got you to that stage. So, it’s extremely hard to focus in those situations, and often these are the matches that can complicate themselves.”
Draper who had only dropped 11 games in his previous three matches, recovered well in the second set with his big serve but halfway through it, called for the physio and tournament director and, while he was able to finish off the set and level the match, his movement became more restricted.
It didn’t take long for De Minaur to take full advantage breaking Draper immediately in the third and when he broke him for a second time, Draper brought the match to a halt by shaking hands with the Australian No.1.
“It’s never easy. And look, I think at the end of the day, it’s all about what kind of stage in the match it is. So that’s why it’s so important to try and get your nose ahead even in that third set,” De Minaur continued. “Even though I dropped that second set, I knew he was hurting from then and I just told myself to bring up the intensity, try and get a head start in the third set and make it a little bit harder for him.
“But honestly, I wish him a speedy recovery. He’s a hell of a player, a hell of a talent and I hope it’s nothing too serious.”
Casper Rudd upset the second seed to reach the final
(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
De Minaur, seeded three for the week, will face sixth seeded Casper Ruud who battled past the second seed Holger Rune 3-6 6-3 6-4 to make the final after two-hours and 23-minutes of competitive play.
Rune took control in the early stage but couldn’t stop the in-form Norwegian from turning the match around by making the match more physical which inevitably led the Dane cramping.
“It was a tough start. Holger just came out firing bullets from the forehand, from the backhand and I had not too much time to play my game,” Ruud admitted. “I was frustrated at times, especially at the end of the first set, beginning of the second. I didn’t really feel like I got to play any points how I wanted to, so there was some frustration towards myself, towards my box, because I didn’t feel like we were doing the right thing.
“But luckily with one break in the second, it turned around a bit and in the third set it got a little physical. I think maybe Holger seemed like he was struggling a little bit and started firing even more and a couple of games it went in and he broke me, which is frustrating.”
Ruud, the former world No.2, lost serve twice in the third set, but was able to break back and eventually upset his higher ranked opponent.
“You kind of know that [you need to] try to get a lot of balls back, make him run, make him fight for every point and luckily I was able to,” Ruud added. “Some unforced errors crept up on him and I served really well in the last game to close it out.”
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