De Minaur into Acapulco semis after straight-sets win

The eighth-seeded Australian cruised past Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel 6-2 6-2 on Thursday in 97 minutes, and into the semi-finals.

De Minaur, the world No.22, will play fourth seed Holger Rune of Denmark who moved on when Italian Matteo Berrettini retired in the second set after falling behind 6-0 1-0.

"I think it was close to perfection from my side. I was playing so disciplined from the start to the finish," said Rune, who lost just seven points in the match.

"Of course it's never nice to end this way. I wish Matteo the best. But if I look at my own level, I was super proud of how I handled the situation so I just can't wait for the semi-final."

De Minaur won the final four games of both sets against Daniel and did not face a break point after he was broken for 2-0 in the opener.

The 24-year-old Sydneysider has dropped just eight games in his three victories, having defeated Mexican wildcard Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez in the opening round and Italian qualifier Jacopo Berrettini in the last 16.

On the other side of the draw, Taylor Fritz beat fellow American Frances Tiafoe 6-3 6-4 to advance to the last four - where he'll face seventh seed Tommy Paul.

It'll be just the second all-US semi-final fixture in the 30-year history of the Mexican event. Fritz faced John Isner in 2020, when he was the runner-up.

The winner of the Fritz-Paul match will become the third American to reach the tournament decider. Besides Fritz, Sam Querrey won the tournament in 2017.

"I'd say it's similar to how I would play Frances," Fritz said of the matchup.

"He's one of my close friends, we both know each other's game really well. Tommy's been playing well. It's been a while since we've played each other and it's going to be a good match."

Fritz is in his second semi of the season and is trying to capture his second title after winning at Delray Beach.

With AP.

Australian Associated Press