“Point of the year” – Alex de Minaur’s stunning athleticism and court coverage during the Acapulco finals against Casper Ruud stuns fans

It was an impressive title defense by Alex de Minaur at the 2024 Acapulco Open. The World No. 9 was up against Casper Ruud in the finals of the ATP-500 event. The Norwegian was playing in his maiden ATP-500 final. As for the Aussie, it was his sixth, with eyes on his second title at the tier. 

The third-seeded de Minaur had a big task at hand as the defending champ. Having broken just a few weeks ago in the Top 10, had he failed to win the title again, he was at risk of moving out of the Top 10 again. But he put out a great performance to secure his eighth career title.

Ruud was looking for his 11th career title but instead settled for his 10th runner-up trophy. The Aussie won the finals 6-4, 6-4 to secure his third straight-set win of the week. Only Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals and Jack Draper in the semis could win a set against him. 

During the finals, de Minaur showed fabulous court coverage. One of the moments came in the penultimate game of the second set. Ruud was serving to stay in the finals at 3–5. As the former World No. 2 hit his serve right down the center at 15-15, a spending rally commenced between the two. 

Ruud quickly came up to the net after a cheeky slice across the court that forced de Minaur to sprint to the net to hit the return. The Norwegian then simply toyed with the Aussie, making him run to every corner of the court. At one point, de Minaur was not even in the camera’s frame but still made the shot. 

As Ruud continued to stand at the net and dictate the terms, one of his volleys forced de Minaur to rush to the net. The return wasn’t good enough and all Ruud had to do was hit it simply down the court. But his shot was mistimed and the ball landed outside the court giving the point to the third seed.

Fans go berserk after Alex de Minaur’s stunning point

The point saw the World No. 9 take a 30-15 lead. But Ruud held on to his serve to make it 5-4 eventually and keep the pressure on. But the advantage remained with the defending champ who served for the title and held his nerves to clinch his second biggest Tour title.

While the Australian was praised for his splendid performance throughout the week, the point from the ninth game still kept fans in awe of him. Many took to X (formerly Twitter) to appreciate him for his attitude to not give up.

Sharing a wide spectrum of reactions online, here’s what fans have to say:

Despite the title, de Minaur still slips down a position and will be ranked World No. 10 when the rankings are updated tomorrow. As for Ruud, the runner-up finish takes him back into the Top 10, and he will rise two places to become World No. 9. 

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