ATP Acapulco: Alexander Zverev and Nick Kyrgios set blockbuster final
The 2nd seed Alexander Zverev is through to his 16th ATP final and the first since the ATP Finals in November after another great win in Acapulco. After Alexei Popyrin, David Ferrer and Alex de Minaur, the German took down Cameron Norrie 7-6, 6-0 in an hour and 20 minutes, firing ten aces and saving two out of three break points he faced. Norrie played some impressive tennis this week but his second serve let him down today, having to defend four break points and suffering two breaks to send Sascha into the title match. The German had 20 winners and 16 unforced errors while the Briton counted to 11 direct points and 25 errors, spraying them from both wings and not being able to impose his strokes and move Zverev from the comfort zone.
The favorite made the best possible start, breaking Norrie at 15 in the opening game of the match after a double fault, rattling off four good holds to move 5-3 up. Serving for the set in game ten, Sascha suddenly made two backhand errors to hand his game and bring Cameron back on the scoreboard, having to chase the opener in the tie break. Just like against Ferrer, he was the dominant figure there, taking all seven points and securing the set with an ace after 46 minutes. The momentum was on his side and he broke a left-hander after a lucky net cord in game two which proved to be the crucial moment of the match.
Serving at 3-1, Zverev saved a couple of break points and that was the last obstacle en route to the finish line, holding at love in game seven before wrapping up the win with a service winner at 5-3. Finding confidence and energy in high-quality wins over Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios is through to his first ATP final since Brisbane last year after a tight 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 triumph over John Isner in two hours and 21 minutes. John and Nick have met for the fifth time and the Aussie grabbed the third straight win despite taking three points less than his rival, emerging at the top despite being two points away from the defeat three times in the deciding tie break.
They had almost 50 aces combined, with both repelling three out of four break points and delivering similar numbers on both the first and second serve, with nearly identical winners-unforced errors ratio! Isner finished the previous match against John Millman at 2:30 am that morning but he found the strength to fight for every point in this match as well, creating two break points in game six that Nick erased with two aces. It was the American's turn to struggle on serve at 5-5, fending off the first three break points before Nick converted the fourth after a terrible forehand from John that cost him the set.
Serving for the opener, Kyrgios landed a forehand down the line winner for a 7-5 after 43 minutes, looking good to reach the first ATP final in over a year. John bounced back in set number two, dropping just four points in his games and waiting for a chance on the return that finally came at 6-5, breaking Nick at 15 after a backhand error from the Aussie and setting up a decider that promised to be nothing but spectacular. Saving their best serves for the last set, there were no break points or deuces in 12 games, cementing the tie break where Isner won three straight points from 4-2 down to move two points away from the finish line.
Nick blasted two good serves for a 6-5 and Isner saved the match point with a forehand winner, spraying a forehand error in the following point to offer Kyrgios the second chance to seal the encounter. The Aussie failed to convert it although he moved 8-7 ahead with a forehand winner, sealing the deal with an improvised backhand that John couldn't catch and setting the final clash against Zverev on Saturday night.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2En6p2u
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