Alex de Minaur gets an easy berth in Mexico Open final

Alex Minaur is into the Mexico Open final after ill health forced opponent Jack Draper to quit the contest.

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,” de Minaur, the world No.9 and Australia’s top-ranked men’s player, said.

“He has a tremendous talent and hopefully he can recover for the upcoming tournaments.

‘You need to remain focused’

“It’s hard to play when your opponent is not OK physically, but you need to remain focused.”

The 25-year-old de Minaur won his ninth straight match in Mexico as he became the first defending champion to reach the Acapulco final since Spain’s 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 semi-final of an ATP 500 tournament.

-AAP