De Minaur downs Ruud to defend Acapulco crown

Alex de Minaur secured a first trophy to show for his excellent start to the 2024 season on Saturday night in Acapulco, where the Australian downed Casper Ruud to successfully defend his title at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

The third-seeded De Minaur prevailed 6-4, 6-4 in the championship match at the ATP 500 to clinch his eighth ATP Tour crown. He converted three of four break points he earned in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with Ruud since he defeated the Norwegian at the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals, and ultimately wrapped a one-hour, 57-minute victory for a second straight triumph on the Mexican Pacific Coast.

“It’s been an amazing week,” said De Minaur, who is now 15-4 for the season, in his post-match interview. “Probably a week I didn’t really expect if I’m honest. I came into Mexico not feeling my best and just kept on telling myself to keep giving myself chances. I think today I played my best match of the tournament, so I’m extremely happy with that.”

🏆 BACK-TO-BACK 🏆@alexdeminaur defends his Acapulco title, defeating Casper Ruud 6-4 6-4.@AbiertoTelcel | #AMT2024 pic.twitter.com/jzq22Te2S6

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 3, 2024

De Minaur outhit Ruud by 27 winners to eight, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Despite making just 53 per cent of first serves, the Australian was crucially able to win 74 per cent (20/27) of points behind his second delivery. He is the first player to successfully defend the title in Acapulco since the tournament switched to hard courts in 2014, and is now 11-2 at the event since making his debut in 2019.

“Acapulco has been a very good place to me for my tennis career,” said De Minaur. “The first time I won a 500, and [now] the first time I’ve defended a title in my career. I feel at home here and it’s a great place to be.”

One of the highlights of De Minaur’s triumph was a stunning all-court point in the penultimate game of the match. He showcased the lightning movement and defensive defiance that has already earned him four Top 10 wins in 2024 to outlast Ruud in a point he barely had the right to win.

With his title run, De Minaur ensured he will on Monday remain in the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings. Despite defeating Ruud in Saturday’s final, the Australian will drop one spot below the Norwegian to No. 10. He is up three spots in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, however — De Minaur now sits third behind Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev.

“Fantastic playing all week, too good tonight, too good every night,” said Ruud to De Minaur at the trophy ceremony. “It seems like you are playing in Acapulco quite well and I guess you will come back next year. I hope not, but I’m sure you will!”