ATP Acapulco: Grigor Dimitrov downs Stan Wawrinka. John Isner and Taylor Fritz win

In the battle of former Acapulco champions, Rafael Nadal will face the 7th seed Grigor Dimitrov for the place in the final of the prestigious ATP 500 event. Losing the last five matches against the Swiss Stan Wawrinka, Dimitrov notched a 6-4, 6-4 triumph on Thursday night to end the losing streak and deliver his fifth victory over Stan in 12 encounters. Serving at 76%, the Bulgarian fended off three out of four break chances, mounting pressure on Stan's second serve and securing three breaks from six opportunities that carried him over the finish line. Wawrinka made too many unforced errors from both forehand and backhand wing, unable to follow the rival's pace or produce his best tennis when it mattered the most, finishing the campaign in the quarters. The Swiss sprayed a backhand error in the first game to suffer a break at love, pulling it back at 2-3 when Grigor netted a backhand to level the score at 3-3.

Dimitrov moved back in front when Wawrinka sent a forehand long in the next game, saving a break point in the eighth game and closing the opener when Stan produced a massive forehand mistake in the tenth game. The Bulgarian faced only one break chance in set number two, saving it and earning a break at love at 2-2 after a forehand mistake from Stan that would cost him dearly. Serving for the victory at 5-4, Grigor notched a fine hold to move over the top and set Rafael Nadal clash on Friday. Heading to Acapulco with only three ATP wins under his belt in 2020 so, Taylor Fritz will play in the first semi-final since Los Cabos last August, beating Kyle Edmund 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and 34 minutes. The American fired 11 aces and struggled on the second serve to get broken three times from nine chances awarded to Kyle. On the other hand, the Briton lost almost half of the points in his games, suffering five breaks from 12 break points he had to play against, propelling Taylor into the last four.

They traded four consecutive games at the beginning of the match before Fritz grabbed another one at 5-4 to close the opener thanks to a forehand error from Edmund. The American stayed in front in set number two with breaks in games six and eight, erasing two break chances in the ninth game with winners to secure the triumph and set an all-American clash with John Isner. The top-ranked American needed two hours to oust another compatriot Tommy Paul 7-6, 3-6, 6-2, blasting 22 aces and giving serve away once. Paul gave his best to stay in touch, falling 7-3 in the opening set tie break before gaining that one break in set number two to force a decider. There, Isner broke in the sixth game, held after an ace to extend the lead and sealing the deal with another break in game eight to advance into the second semi-final of the season so far.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3ceEjqh