Continuing a rich vein of form, Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro defeated hard-serving c to claim the ATP Mexican Open title here on Sunday.
Del Potro dispatched fifth seed Anderson 6-4, 6-4 to win the ATP World Tour 500 title, his biggest trophy since 2013 Swiss Indoors Basel.
Before toppling world number eight Anderson, del Potro had defeated Mischa Zverev, four-time Acapulco champion David Ferrer, No. 6 Dominic Thiem and No. 5 Alexander Zverev.
“It’s a very special tournament to me. I beat three Top 10 guys in the same tournament, which is very important for myself. I’m so glad to win my 21st title playing in Acapulco,” Del Potro said.
Meanwhile, the defeat from del Potro broke the South African’s dream of bagging a fifth ATP title and his second consecutive title after winning the New York Open two weeks ago.
“It was a little bit uncomfortable at first… I think in the bigger picture of things it didn’t really affect things too much,” Anderson said. “I think he played really well. He’s obviously a tough competitor and a great player. I just needed to do a little bit more today,” Anderson said post his defeat.
He added, “I can take a lot of confidence going into Indian Wells and Miami, two tournaments I really enjoy playing. I feel like I’m playing really good tennis,” Anderson said. “As always, I’ll pick myself up. I’ll try to learn as much as I can from tonight’s match.”
With this win, 29-year-old Argentine is set to take the eight place in the ATP Rankings, switching spots with Anderson.
