Davidovich Fokina stops Shapovalov, joins Machac in Acapulco final

Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina won against Canadian Denis Shapovalov, the No 9 seed, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (1) to reach the final of the Mexican Open at the Arena GNP Seguros in Acapulco on Friday.

In a rollercoaster battle that stretched to two hours, 18 minutes, Davidovich Fokina and Shapovalov broke each other four times, with the Spaniard winning nine out of the last ten exchanges.

He rallied from a 1-4 deficit in the first set to claim the advantage and found himself cruising with a 4-1 lead in the second. However, it was Shapovalov’s turn this time to fight back and force a tiebreak, where Davidovich Fokina eventually prevailed after the Canadian saved a match point to avoid a mini bagel.

“The match was so tight,” the Spaniard said after the win. “The first set maybe he deserved it more. The second set I deserved it maybe. But at the end I didn’t lose the fight against him because I was ready for everything at the end. It’s not every day I’m in the semi-finals of 500. I’m very happy how I fought back for the first set and how I continued in the second set. It was not easy when he came back.”

Davidovich Fokina, ranked No 48, will face No 8 seed Tomas Machac next. It will be his third singles final on the ATP tour and second in a fortnight (Delray Beach Open: lost to Miomir Kecmanovic).

The Spaniard beat Italian lucky loser Mattia Bellucci (1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2), American Frances Tiafoe, the No 7 seed (6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3) and Mexican wildcard Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez (6-2, 6-2) earlier in the tournament.

In the previous rounds of the Acapulco tournament, Shapovalov, ranked No 32, won against American qualifier Nishesh Basavareddy (7-5, 6-2), American Alex Michelsen (6-4, 6-3) and American Marcos Giron (4-6, 6-3, 6-2).

Acapulco ATP 500, other semi-final result (Arena GNP Seguros, hard, USD 2.585.410):

• Tomas Machac beat Brandon Nakashima: 6-4, 1-6, 6-4

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