Del Potro and Tsurenko win Acapulco titles

Juan Martin del Potro and Lesia Tsurenko prevailed in very different circumstances to win the singles titles at the Mexican Open.

Ukraine’s Tsurenko overcame a rash of early double-faults and fought back from the brink of defeat to beat Stefanie Voegele 5-7 7-6(2) 6-2 and retain her Acapulco title.

Del Potro then extended his unbeaten record against Kevin Anderson to 7-0 with a 6-4 6-4 victory.

The Argentine edged a tight first set before Anderson injured his knee in a fall early in the second set, and moments later dropped serve for a second time.

Del Potro claimed the 21st title of his career and his first since winning in Stockholm last October.

Victory for @delpotrojuan!

The Argentinian is champion in Acapulco 6-4 6-4 over Anderson.#AMT2018 pic.twitter.com/RcsoKL363P

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 4, 2018

“It’s a very special tournament to me,” said Del Potro.

“I beat three top-10 guys in the same tournament, which is very important for myself. I’m so glad to win my 21^st title playing in Acapulco.”

Anderson’s usually impressive serve had faltered in the early stages as he struggled to find his first serve consistently, and Del Potro dominated the South African’s second serve.

The former US Open champion got the first break midway through the opening set and closed it out at the third opportunity in a tense service game.

It appeared as though Anderson might have to call it quits when he called for the trainer at 15-40 down early in the second set, following a fall moments earlier.

However, with the help of the trainer Anderson was able to see out the contest, albeit without threatening to overhaul Del Potro.

“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 of the injury.

Tsurenko earlier dropped the first set with four consecutive double-faults, making it nine for the set, and found herself three points from defeat in the second.

However, Voegele could not get over the line and the unseeded Swiss was broken three times as Tsurenko dominated the decider.

“It’s such a special tournament for me, winning here for the second time – this is just an unbelievable feeling for me to be here,” said Tsurenko.

Back to Back!@LTsurenko captures the @AbiertoTelcel title with a 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-2 win over Voegele! pic.twitter.com/JPs1x2L56m

— WTA (@WTA) March 4, 2018

At the Dubai Tennis Championships, Lucas Pouille missed out on making his top-10 debut in next week’s rankings as he went down in two sets to Roberto Bautista Agut in the final.

Third seed Bautista Agut won 6-3 6-4 to claim his eighth ATP title and first at the 500 level.

“I played very good, very aggressively,” the Spaniard told atpworldtour.com.

“I didn’t give him all the court, all the control of the game. I played very good tennis tonight.”

Fognini wins in Sao Paulo

SAO PAULO, REUTERS – Fabio Fognini fought back from a poor start to beat Chilean Nicolas Jarry 1-6 6-1 6-4 and win the Brazil Open title on Sunday.

The Italian struggled with Jarry’s big serve early in the match and the 22-year-old Chilean, playing in his first ATP final, looked intent on claiming his first tour crown as he stormed through the first set in 21 minutes.

But Fognini adjusted his game and romped through the second set before overpowering a tired-looking opponent to take the title, the sixth of his career.

“He started very well and I had to wait a bit for his serve to calm down,” Fognini said. “I’ve always played well in Sao Paulo and never been able to win so I’m very happy.”