Australia’s Alex de Minaur is known for his fighting spirit on the court. The youngster made a fine comeback in the final of Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC to register a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory in Acapulco.

The Australian lost the opening set against the American, just like he had done in the semifinal clash against Holger Rune but once again didn’t throw in the towel.

This is Alex de Minaur’s seventh title and his first ATP 500 title, which is the biggest of his career so far.

“It feels great, it feels amazing,” De Minaur said just before the trophy ceremony. “I know the hard work that’s put in to be here and it’s good to see the results. It’s not always that you win the tournament and you get to finish a week unbeaten, so I’ll definitely cherish this going into Indian Wells and Miami.”

The 24-year-old from Sydney had to dig deep against Paul as he saved five break points in a five-deuce game and it was the turning point of the game.

“Just to kind of stay in the match, especially in the second set… I just dug deep, managed to scrap my way through it,” the 24-year-old said of the turnaround. “And then the first game of the third set was exactly like my semi-final against Holger [Rune]. So I had that in the back of my mind, I just told myself to keep pushing. If I could keep pushing myself and get out of that game, the momentum was going to switch. I’m very happy I was able to get out of that.”

De Minaur wants to keep the winning impetus and get the best out of himself in the upcoming tournaments.

“Like everything in my career, it’s been step by step,” he said of his return to the Top 20. “I just want to keep pushing, keep getting the most out of myself. I know I might not play unbelievable tennis every day but I know I’m going to fight to the end.

“I’ve got a whole lot of heart in this little body of mine and I enjoy competing, so I’m very happy with it.”

The youngster will now take part in the upcoming Indian Wells Masters.