There should be plenty of exciting tennis for the fans to dig into on day two at the Mexican Open in Acapulco, with ten matches on the slate and a number of star names in action. As ever we here at LWOT will be offering predictions across the board, including for world #2 Rafael Nadal’s clash with Pablo Andujar and defending champion Nick Kyrgios’ match up with Ugo Humbert. But who will book their place in the second round?
Mexican Open Day Two Predictions
Alexander Zverev vs Jason Jung
Head-to-head: first meeting
There might be 112 places between them in the rankings, but this is a potentially tricky test for second seed Alexander Zverev with Jason Jung having been in fine form lately. The Taiwanese reached the semifinals at the New York Open and any fitness concerns following his first-round retirement trailing 4-6 3-4 against Noah Rubin in Delray Beach were dispelled in the Acapulco qualifying, where he beat Steven Diez and Daniel Altmaier in comprehensive fashion.
Zverev, meanwhile, made a disastrous start to his season at the ATP Cup, crashing out in the group stages, but he rebounded with a career-best showing at the Australian Open, making the semifinals. But he has not played since and it seems likely that it will take time for him to get back into a rhythm. That could create an opportunity for Jung, who will be accustomed to the conditions in Acapulco. Ultimately, however, Zverev’s power should see him safely into the second round.
Prediction: Zverev in 3
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Steve Johnson vs Dusan Lajovic
Head-to-head: first meeting
After he excelled at the ATP Cup, providing some crucial wins on Serbia’s march to the title before reaching the third round in Melbourne, Dusan Lajovic’s form tailed off somewhat during the Golden Swing, where he won just two matches. That is something of a surprise as he is usually at his best on the clay. But the relatively slow, high-bouncing courts at the Mexican Open should also suit his shot-making style, giving him the time he needs to wind up some big groundstrokes.
Steve Johnson too may enjoy the chance to unleash some big forehands. But his backhand, which he struggles to come over, continues to hold him back and he has rather lost his way over the past 18 months, although his quarterfinal showing at the Delray Beach Open was promising. Nonetheless, if Lajovic is able to serve well and regularly find the Johnson backhand he should emerge the victor from this contest, even if he has to go the distance to do so.
Prediction: Lajovic in 3
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Damir Dzumhur vs Grigor Dimitrov
Head-to-head: Dimitrov 4-0 Dzumhur
This is a match that Dimitrov should win. He has more power and variety than Dzumhur and the courts at the Mexican Open typically reward aggressive intent. He has also beaten the Bosnian in all four of their previous meetings, including in straight-sets at the close of last season in Vienna. But Dimitrov has been rather hit and miss so far in 2020 and has not scored back-to-back wins since the first week of the season in the ATP Cup round robin.
In the context of his career, that inconsistency is hardly a surprise. Dzumhur, meanwhile, after an extended period of toil has been working his way back to his best, qualifying into the main draw in Montpellier and now in Acapulco. However, he is without a win at tour-level in 2020, which rather suggests that there is a considerable amount of work still to be done. And if Dimitrov plays at anything like his best, don’t expect Dzumhur to get his first tour-level win of the season at the Mexican Open.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 3
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