Querrey to face Nadal in Acapulco final

Sam Querrey continued his dream run at the Mexican Open in Acapulco Friday night, upsetting No. 6 seed Nick Kyrgios to become the first American to reach the Acapulco final in the 24-year history of the tournament.

He will take on world No. 6 and No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal for the title.

Querrey, ranked No. 40 in the world and unseeded this week, has posted a series of impressive victories en route to the final, upending fifth seed David Goffin, 6-2, 6-3, in the second round, No. 4 Dominic Thiem, 6-1, 7-5, in the quarterfinals, and Kyrgios, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, in the semis.

“When I play my best, I’m capable of beating a lot of these top guys, and I’ve been able to put it all together these past three matches,” the 29-year-old Californian told atpworldtour.com following his win over Kyrgios. “It just gets tougher from here because Rafa has been playing great all year, so I’m going to talk with my coach and leave it all out on the court.”

Querrey last played an ATP final in February 2016 at the Delray Beach Open, where he beat fellow American Rajeev Ram to take the title.

He has faced Nadal four times previously, with Nadal leading their head-to-head matchups, 4-0.

"Sam is playing great," Nadal said. "He’ll be coming into the match with a lot of confidence.”

Querrey and Nadal will square off for the championship Saturday night at 10 p.m. ET.

A victory would give the Spaniard his 70th title overall and his first hard-court championship since Doha in 2014. A win for the American would give him his ninth career ATP title and his seventh on hard courts.