ATP Acapulco: Tommy Paul beats Fritz in marathon match, Rune cramps de Minaur
Tommy Paul (ATP No. 23) has reached the final at the ATP event in Acapulco - after the longest match in tournament history.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Mar 04, 2023, 10:15 am
In a duel between the two Americans, Paul won against Taylor Fritz 6:3, 6:7 (2), 7:6 (2) - after 3 hours and 25 minutes of play. At the same time a record in the 30-year history of the tournament in Mexico.
Paul was already 1:3 behind in the third round, was plagued by physical problems and Fritz was also weak. "I felt my body and served something funny, which obviously didn't suit him. Then he got stomach problems," reflected Paul. "I think I was a bit lucky that we both had problems, not just me."
For Tommy Paul, things are steadily moving up, so after the first Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open this year, the first final in a tournament in the 500 category is now up.
Alex de Minaur with a comeback win over Rune
In the final, Paul now meets Alex de Minaur, who also had to work hard until late at night. In the end it was 3:6, 7:5, 6:2 for him after 2 hours and 48 minutes against Holger Rune, who played well in the first one and a half sets, but then had to struggle with cramps against the Australian long-distance runner.
In a direct comparison, de Minaur leads with 3-0 wins against Paul, all matches took place in 2022.