ACAPULCO, Mexico — Juan Martin Del Potro continued his dominance over Kevin Anderson, putting the brakes on the South African’s brilliant run of success to claim the ATP Mexican Open title Saturday night.

Del Potro defeated the hard-serving Anderson 6-4, 6-4 in the final to claim his first title of 2018 and post his seventh-straight career victory over Anderson.

The 29-year-old Del Potro recorded his 21st career ATP title but this is one of his biggest in years and the earliest he has hoisted a trophy since the 2014 season.

The Argentine won the title by battling through a tough draw that included a trio of top 10 players.

He defeated Mischa Zverev, four-time Acapulco champion David Ferrer, No. 6 Dominic Thiem and No. 5 Alexander Zverev before dispatching world number eight Anderson.

Del Potro has owned Anderson on the hardcourts ever since their first meeting in 2011 in Delray Beach, Florida that he also won 6-4, 6-4. Since then, they have squared off in Vienna, Valencia, Basel, Washington and Delray again with all the matches taking place on the hard surface.

Del Potro served masterfully Saturday, blasting 12 aces and winning 78 percent of his first serve and 64 percent of his second serve points in the one hour, 40 minute match.

Del Potro managed to hold serve throughout the match and broke Anderson twice.

Anderson, of Johannesburg, had his eight-match winning streak snapped and was coming off a title at the New York Open.

On the women’s side, Lesia Tsurenko successfully defended her WTA Mexican Open title by rallying from a first set loss to beat Stefanie Voegele 5-7, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2.

Tsurenko of the Ukraine earned her 10th straight victory this week and claimed her fourth career WTA Tour title by outlasting Voegele in the two hour, 45 minute match.

The seventh seeded Tsurenko hit two aces and won 64 percent of her first-serve points coughing up 10 double faults as she was broken six times.

At one stage she was just three points away from defeat in the second set, but she hung on and has now won at least one title each year since claiming her first in 2015 at the Guangzhou, China tournament.

The unseeded Voegele, who was playing in her first final, blasted four aces and had her serve broken seven times.

Fognini ends Cuevas’s

Sao Paolo winning streak

Pablo Cuevas’s pursuit of a fourth successive Brazil Open title ended Saturday as Italian Fabio Fognini snapped the Uruguayan’s 15-match winning run in Sao Paolo with a 6-4, 6-2 win in the semifinals.

An out of sorts Cuevas failed to convert any of his three break points against the Italian, who set up a final showdown with world No. 73 Nicolas Jarry.

Fognini was particularly dominant on his serve and will head into Sunday’s final seeking his sixth ATP title and his first since triumphing in Gstaad last July.

Chilean Jarry reached his first ATP final by overcoming Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4.

Bouchard, De Minaur

gain wild cards

Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard and Australian Alex de Minaur were given wild card invitations to the ATP Masters and WTA hardcourt tournament at Indian Wells, organizers said Saturday.

Organizers of the tournament, which starts next week in the California desert, had already awarded a wild card to former world number one Victoria Azarenka, who missed much of 2017 after the birth of her son.

Tournament organizers announced another initiative aimed at encouraging top players to tackle doubles, offering a $1 million bonus prize to any player who captures both singles and doubles titles at the tournament. — Agencies