After three days featuring thrilling tennis, upsets and plenty of excitement, just eight men remain in contention for the title at the ATP Acapulco Open ahead of quarterfinal day. All will surely be desperate to get their hands on the ATP 500 trophy, particularly with the ATP Miami Open looming large on the horizon. But who will book their place in the last four?
ATP Acapulco Open Quarterfinal Predictions
Dominik Koepfer vs Cameron Norrie
Head-to-head: Koepfer 1-1 Norrie
Few would have predicted that Dominik Koepfer and Cameron Norrie would be contesting this quarterfinal at the start of the week. Unsurprisingly then, this lacks a little by way of star wattage in comparison with the other three matches on quarterfinal day. However, it certainly still has the makings of an intriguing match, with both men having played some fine tennis so far in Acapulco. In fact, neither has yet dropped a set.
Norrie has beaten the American young gun Stefan Kozlov and sixth seed Fabio Fognini, whilst Koepfer got the better of Gerardo Lopez Villasenor before beating Milos Raonic, the fourth seed. But it may be Norrie who is the more confident. He beat Koepfer comfortably in their last meeting, which came four years ago in Lexington, with the German struggling to contend with Norrie’s slightly unorthodox baseline game. This should be more competitive, but expect the Briton to have the edge again.
Prediction: Norrie in 3
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Casper Ruud vs Alexander Zverev
Head-to-head: first meeting
This is the first meeting between Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev in professional tennis, but it seems very unlikely that it will be the last. The German, who made a broadly positive start to the year in Melbourne before stumbling in Rotterdam, has looked sharp so far at the ATP Acapulco Open, picking up comprehensive wins over Carlos Alcaraz and Laslo Djere. Casper Ruud’s progress has not been quite so serene, with the world #25 thrashing Daniel Elahi Galan before scraping past Tallon Griekspoor in a third-set tiebreak.
Ruud is a player who will surely reach the top ten and he has made impressive strides over the last 12 months to improve on hard courts. However, he comes up short against the very best in the game more often than not because he lacks a truly reliable weapon. In contrast, when Zverev is on song, he can call upon a formidable arsenal, with his serve, forehand and backhand all amongst the most powerful in the men’s game. He should be able to hit through Ruud.
Prediction: Zverev in 3
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Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Felix Auger-Aliassime
Head-to-head: Tsitsipas 2-2 Auger-Aliassime
After an all-conquering start to life on the men’s tour, Felix Auger-Aliassime’s progress has stalled a little over the last 12 months or so. His struggles should not be overstated, he is, after all, already ranked inside the top 20 at world #18 and has not yet turned 21, but there are some reasons to be concerned. He has not yet won an ATP title, losing all seven finals he has contested without winning a set and has beaten a top ten player just twice.
But the fact that the top ten player he has beaten is none other than Stefanos Tsitsipas may give him some encouragement. Unfortunately for Auger-Aliassime, the Greek has been in very good form this year and so far at the ATP Acapulco Open, he has swept aside Benoit Paire and John Isner in very short order. Auger-Aliassime can almost certainly expect to keep this one closer, but when Tsitsipas is in this kind of mood, the world #6 takes some stopping.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 3
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Lorenzo Musetti vs Grigor Dimitrov
Head-to-head: first meeting
It has been some week for Lorenzo Musetti. The Italian began his campaign with a battling win over Juan Alejandro Hernandez Sorrano, before dismissing Agustin Velotti and Frederico Ferreira Silva to reach the main draw. There he has edged out third seed Diego Schwartzman and Frances Tiafoe, with both wins unquestionably counting amongst the biggest of his career on this surface. He now has the chance for a crack at what would surely be another prized scalp in Grigor Dimitrov.
That said, the Bulgarian is surely the favourite in this match. In his first match since reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, he was handed victory when Adrian Mannarino retired trailing 4-6 0-3 and he then beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-2 6-4 to reach the last eight at the ATP Acapulco Open. He should be feeling confident ahead of this match. Musetti likes to take big cuts at the ball, a typically effective strategy, but Dimitrov excels at varying his pace, especially off the backhand side. That should allow him to disrupt Musetti’s rhythm.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 2
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