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ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Defending champion Alex de Minaur advanced to the final of the Mexican Open when Jack Draper retired in the third set on Friday.
The third-seeded Australian won the first set 6-3, dropped the second 6-2 and was leading 4-0 in the third when Draper, who was visibly diminished physically, called it quits.
De Minaur will face either Casper Ruud or Holger Rune in the final.
“I´m happy to be in the final, but I´m hoping that Jack is doing fine. He has a tremendous talent and hopefully he can recover for the upcoming tournaments,” de Minaur said. “It’s hard to play when your opponent is not OK physically, but you need to remain focused.”
The 25-year-old, ninth-ranked de Minaur won his ninth straight match in Mexico and became the first defending champion to reach the Acapulco final since David Ferrer in 2013.
De Minaur has seven career ATP titles, with last year at Acapulco his most recent.
Draper, of Great Britain, was playing in his first semifinal of an ATP 500 tournament.
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