ATP Acapulco: Nadal, Zverev continue, Kyrgios has to give up
Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev confidently reached the second round of the ATP Tour 500 tournament in Acapulco. For defending champion Nick Kyrgios , however, was over after just one sentence.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Feb 26, 2020, 07:09 am
In 2019 Nick Kyrgios defeated Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev in the final on his way to the tournament win in Acapulco. A year later, the Australian's appearance became a short number: After Kyrgios lost the first set against Ugo Humbert 3: 6, the man from Canberra withdrew from the competition. Last week in Delray Beach, Kyrgios had to pass due to a wrist injury.
The previous year's winner nevertheless tried it in Acapulco - Kyrgios then did not really fit that the spectators acknowledged his withdrawal with whistles.
However, the two top-seeded players had no problems: Rafael Nadal defeated his compatriot Pablo Andujar with 6: 3 and 6: 2, Alexander Zverev won against Jason Jung with 7: 6 (6) and 6: 1. Zverev's older brother Mischa had entered the main field with a wildcard, but had no chance against John Isner.
Alexander Zverev now against Tommy Paul
Alexander Zverev started his first match a bit rusty since the semi-finals at the Australian Open, three double faults gave his opponent an early break. But then the native of Hamburg found his rhythm. "The longer the match lasted, the better I played," Zverev said in an on-court interview. "My serve needs to improve, but overall it was the first round I was expecting." In round two, Zverev faces American Tommy Paul, who defeated Grigor Dimitrov in the first major of the year.
Remarkable is the appearance of Félix Auger-Aliassime: The Canadian had contested the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas in Marseille on Sunday, two days later Auger-Aliassime moved in with a 6: 3 and 7: 6 (5) against the Australian Alex Bolt second round of Acapulco.