Alex de Minaur defeats Casper Ruud to retain Acapulco title

Alex de Minaur of Australia clinched his second straight ATP Mexican Open championship on Saturday by beating Casper Ruud of Norway 6-4, 6-4 in the Acapulco final.

The 25-year-old from Sydney clinched his eighth career ATP title by defeating American Tommy Paul in last year's final, ending a streak of four consecutive final losses. His most recent defeat came last month in Rotterdam.

World number nine de Minaur, who has also won twice in Atlanta, beat 11th-ranked Ruud in one hour and 57 minutes, extending his record to 2-0 against the European player after their previous encounter at the 2019 ATP NextGen Finals.

Ruud, a two-time French Open finalist and the runner-up at the 2022 US Open, missed out on his 11th ATP title for the second consecutive week, having lost in the final at Los Cabos the previous week to Jordan Thompson.

Ruud's last ATP title was in April at Estoril.

Following the match, Ruud praised de Minaur, saying: "Fantastic playing all week. Too good today. Seems like you are enjoying Acapulco quite well. You did a great job."

De Minaur responded: "Great stuff. It was hard work. Thank you for a great match."