Del Potro and Anderson to meet in decider

Acapulco, March 3: Juan Martin del Potro was too good for second seed Alexander Zverev as the grand slam winner moved through to the ATP Mexican Open final.

Del Potro – the 2009 US Open champion – was a class above in his 6-4, 6-2 victory in Friday's semi-inal in Acapulco.

The Argentine star overcame 2016 Mexican Open winner and third seed Dominic Thiem in their blockbuster quarterfinal.

And Del Potro was not broken in the final-four showdown, which lasted an hour and a half, as he converted three of his own against the talented German.

Standing in the way of the sixth seed and glory in Mexico is in-form South African Kevin Anderson.

Anderson stayed red hot with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over qualifier Jared Donaldson on Friday.

Seeking back-to-back titles after taking out the New York Open a fortnight ago, fifth seed Anderson improved to 11-2 for the season after outlasting the American.

"It's another opportunity for me," Anderson said. "I'm looking forward to it. I feel like I'm playing great tennis. [It's] just about recovering and resting up right now and being as prepared as possible for tomorrow [Saturday]."

Meanwhile, three-time defending champion Pablo Cuevas kept his quest for a four-peat alive by overcoming Leonardo Mayer 6-2, 6-7 (11-13), 7-6 (7-5) at the Brasil Open.

Cuevas – the third seed – won 112 total points in the quarter-final contest as he extended his winning streak to 15 matches in Sao Paulo.

Top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas, however, lost 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) against Nicolas Jarry.

Italian second seed Fabio Fognini accounted for Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 6-2, while Horacio Zeballos prevailed 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 6-4 against Rogerio Dutra Silva.