The Demon defends his crown in Acapulco, beating The Iceman to the title

Alex “The Demon” de Minaur defeated Casper “The Iceman” Ruud 6-4, 6-4 in an all-UTS final at the Mexican Open.

The Australian, the third seed in Mexico, became the first player in twelve years to successfully defend his trophy in Acapulco and only the fourth man to ever achieve the feat.

The Demon overcame a typically resolute and solid display from The Iceman to win through in straight sets, backing up his 3-0 victory over the Norwegian at UTS Oslo last month.

The Aussie went on to lose that final to Rublo, but showed few signs of nerves in Mexico as his supreme athleticism proved too much for Ruud to handle.

Despite losing in the final, The Iceman will climb two spots to No 9 in the world rankings on Monday while de Minaur will drop one spot to No 10.

“It’s been an amazing week,” De Minaur said in his post-match interview.

“Probably a week I didn’t really expect if I’m honest. I came into Mexico not feeling my best and just kept on telling myself to keep giving myself chances. I think today I played my best match of the tournament, so I’m extremely happy with that.”