ACAPULCO, Mexico, March 2, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – World number three Alexander
Zverev powered into his first ATP final of 2019 on Friday, downing Britain’s
Cameron Norrie 7-6 (7/0), 6-3 in Acapulco.
The 21-year-old German, playing just his second tournament of the year
after crashing out of the fourth round of the Australian Open, will fight for
the title against either third-seeded John Isner or Nick Kyrgios — who has
reached the last four with victories over 17-time Grand Slam champion Rafael
Nadal and three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka.
Zverev, the second seed, has gone one better than he did in his Acapulco
debut last year, when he fell to eventual champion Juan Martin del Potro in
the semis.
He hasn’t dropped a set all week, and was convincing against the 64th-
ranked Norrie.
Unable to serve out the first set, Zverev raced through the tiebreaker and
quickly seized a 3-0 lead in the second set, relying on a strong baseline
game and 10 aces.
In women’s semi-final action the upset trend continued as China’s Wang
Yafan ousted third-seeded Croatian Donna Vekic 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Wang, 24 and ranked 65th in the world, reached her first WTA level final
with the come-from-behind triumph, squeaking through in a second sat that
featured just one hold of serve.
Although 28th-ranked Vekic converted all six of her break points against
Wang, 39 unforced errors ultimately proved doo much to overcome and Wang
didn’t face a break point in the final set.
“It was a tough match. I tried to fight for every point,” said Wang, who
will face either fifth-seeded American Sofia Kenin or Canadian Bianca
Andreescu in the final.