Anderson downs Chung to reach semis in Acapulco

Cape Town - South Africa’s Kevin Anderson is through to the semi-finals of the Mexican Open in Acapulco after defeating South Korea’s Chung Hyeon in Friday’s quarter-finals.

The fifth-seeded South African won in straight sets - 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 - against the man who made headlines by reaching this year’s Australian Open semi-finals.

Anderson, who is currently ranked at No 8 on the official ATP rankings, will next face America’s Jared Donaldson for a spot in the final.

Donaldson dismissed Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-1 in their quarter-final match.

Anderson will take a 1-0 head-to-head win-record into his match against Donaldson, having prevailed in the pair’s only previous meeting - winning 6-3, 6-7 (7/9), 6-2 on clay in Geneva last year.

In the other half of the draw, German No 2 Alexander Zverev will play No 6 seed Juan Martin del Potro from Argentina in the semi-finals.

Zverev reached the last-four after beating America’s Ryan Harrison 6-4, 6-1, while Del Potro ousted No 3 seed Dominic Thiem from Austria 6-2, 7-6 (9/7).

Results on Thursday in ATP and WTA Mexican Open in Acapulco (x denotes seeding):

Men

Quarter-finals

Jared Donaldson (USA) bt Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 6-3, 6-1

Kevin Anderson (RSA x5) bt Chung Hyeon (KOR) 7-6 (7/5), 6-4

Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG x6) bt Dominic Thiem (AUT x3) 6-2, 7-6 (9/7)

Alexander Zverev (GER x2) bt Ryan Harrison (USA) 6-4, 6-1

Women

Quarter-finals

Stefanie Vogele (SUI) bt Sloane Stephens (USA x1) 6-4, 5-7, 6-2

Rebecca Peterson (SWE) bt Shuai Zhang (CHN x4) 6-2, 6-1

Daria Gavrilova (AUS x3) bt Veronica Cepede (PAR) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2

Lesia Tsurenko (UKR x7) bt Kristina Mladenovic (FRA x2) 6-2, 6-2