Del Potro dispatches Zverev to enter final

Acapulco: Juan Martin del Potro dispatched top seed German Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinal of the Mexican Open on Friday to set up a decider against South African Kevin Anderson who overcame Jared Donaldson 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Zverev assumed top ranking after the late withdrawal of Rafael Nadal and he had not lost a set all week.

But Del Potro, who has won 16 of his 20 career titles on hard courts like the one in Acapulco, dominated his higher-ranked opponent in a match that lasted just 90 minutes.

The Argentine never lost a break point all night and hit only one double fault.

Meanwhile, Anderson is on track for a second consecutive title after winning the New York Open two weeks ago.

Anderson, who is enjoying one of the finest spells of a long and solid career that has brought him four titles, used his height and power to serve 18 aces against Donaldson.

The South African also hit more than double the number of winners against his opponent - 37 to 17.

"I really felt I did well, just fighting as hard as I could," he said in a courtside interview.

"The match point felt great to really go after it and execute the way I wanted to."  

Tsurenko scores    

In the women's challenge, defending champion Lesia Tsurenko frittered away six match points before finally seeing off Australia's Daria Gavrilova 6-2, 6-4 in their Mexican Open semifinal on Friday.

The Ukrainian seventh seed  is yet to drop a set over the last two years on the Acapulco hard court, a hot streak she will expect to extend when she meets unseeded Swiss Stefanie Voegele in  the final.

Voegele, ranked 183 in the world, reached her first WTA-level final appearance when she beat Swedish qualifier Rebecca Peterson 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the second semi.

Pouille  in title round

Second seed Lucas Pouille outlasted Serbia's Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6(5) at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Friday to reach his third ATP World Tour final in four events.

World number 15 Pouille, who won the Montpellier title last month and reached the Marseille final last week, prevailed in two hours and 19 minutes to give himself a shot at entering the top 10 for the first time in his career.

Standing in the 24-year-old Frenchman's way is Roberto Bautista  Agut, who cruised past wildcard Malek Jaziri 6-3, 6-4 to end the Tunisian's fairy tale run in the tournament.

"If I play like this every week of the year... if I'm focused and mentally as strong as I am now, I'm sure one week or another I'll be in the top 10," Pouille said.  

After taking the first set with ease, Pouille ran into trouble at 5-4 in the second as a determined Krajinovic fought back to drag the contest into a decider.

After a short rain delay, Pouille clinched victory in a third-set tiebreak.