The ATP Mexican Open in Acapulco features a strong field, with top seeds like Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, and the second seed, Alex de Minaur, who is featured in this article. Seven first-round matches are scheduled on Day 1, and as always, we at LWOT will offer predictions for all the matches. Which players will advance?
ATP Acapulco Day 1 Predictions
Valentin Vacherot vs Coleman Wong
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Shanghai Masters champion Valentin Vacherot has made a decent start to his season and played two great matches at the Davis Cup earlier this month. He doesn’t have many points to defend in the coming weeks and will be looking to get inside the Top 20. Coleman Wong had a great run in Delray Beach last week, where he averaged 14 aces per match, but the conditions here in Acapulco are slower, and Wong won just 63% of his first serve points in his loss to Patrick Kypson in the second round of qualifying. Vacherot has the better game for these conditions.
Prediction: Vacherot in 2
Brandon Nakashima vs Elias Ymer
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Brandon Nakashima has a great serve, but in his last two losses, he has come up against players who have out-served him. That certainly won’t be the case against qualifier Elias Ymer, who is looking for his first tour-level win of the season. The conditions here will favour Ymer to get more balls back in play and frustrate Nakashima, but the gap in serving quality is too big. Nakashima made the semifinals here last year, and I am going with him to make a strong start.
Prediction: Nakashima in 3
Alex de Minaur vs Patrick Kypson
Head-to-Head: first meeting
World No.6 and two-time Acapulco champion, Alex de Minaur, is playing some of the best tennis of his life and arrives here full of confidence after a great run in Rotterdam, where he lost just one set en route to the title. Patrick Kypson played two great matches in qualifying, but De Minaur is on a different level and will challenge the American on every serve game.
Prediction: De Minaur in 2
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images
