Acapulco, Mexico, 4 March 2023 | Leigh Rogers

Acapulco, Mexico

Alex de Minaur has defeated world No.10 Holger Rune to earn his place in the Acapulco singles final.

The eighth-seeded Australian edged out a 3-6 7-5 6-2 victory against the 19-year-old Dane in a late-night semifinal battle at the ATP 500 tournament.

De Minaur proved clutch under pressure, saving seven of the eight break points he faced, in a physical encounter that took two hours and 48 minutes to complete and ended at close to 3am local time.

“It feels great. It feels like I deserved it,” De Minaur said. “I hung in there, I stayed tough.

“It’s not easy because he’s a hell of a player. He was hitting me off the court at times and not letting me really do much. But I managed to save a couple of crucial break points and keep giving myself chances.”

https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/1631940019966578694?s=20

This is De Minaur’s third top-10 victory of the season and propels the world No.22 into his 11th career ATP singles final.

The 24-year-old is now aiming to win the seventh – and biggest – ATP singles title of his career.

This marks De Minaur’s third final appearance at ATP 500 level. He has previously finished runner-up at Washington in 2018 and Basel in 2019.

De Minaur will face American Tommy Paul for the title. The Australian Open 2023 semifinalist scored a three-set win against world No.5 Taylor Fritz in the other semifinal.

De Minaur owns an unbeaten record against world No.23 Paul, triumphing in all three of their meetings last season.

“It’s going to be a great match,” De Minaur said. “I’m looking forward to a battle and to just go out there and leave it all out there. There’s not much else you can do. Enjoy the moment.”

Aussies in action – Acapulco

RESULTS
Men’s singles, semifinals
[8] Alex de Minaur (AUS) d [4] Holger Rune (DEN) 3-6 7-5 6-2

COMING UP
Men’s singles, final
[8] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v [7] Tommy Paul (USA)

Austin, USA

An Australian is guaranteed to progress to the WTA 250 doubles final in Austin this week.

Ellen Perez and American partner Nicole Melichar-Martinez secured their spot in the semifinals with a hard-fought 4-6 6-3 [10-6] victory today against Japanese duo Nao Hibino and Makoto Ninomiya.

This sets up a semifinal clash with Australian Olivia Tjandramulia and American Ingrid Neel.

The 25-year-old Tjandramulia, who is ranked No.124, is enjoying a career-best run and aiming to reach her first tour-level final.

World No.18 Perez is aiming to reach her 14th career WTA final and first this season.

Aussies in action – Austin

RESULTS
Women’s doubles, quarterfinals
[1] Ellen Perez (AUS)/Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) d Nao Hibino (JPN)/Makoto Ninomiya (JPN) 4-6 6-3 [10-6]

COMING UP
Women’s doubles, semifinals
[1] Ellen Perez (AUS)/Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) v Olivia Tjandramulia (AUS)/Ingrid Neel (USA)

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