Alexander Zverev won the ATP 500 Acapulco title in 2021 and made the 2019 final, but he’s not coming into this edition with much momentum after a first appearance at the Golden Swing ended up far less glamorous than expected. He’s facing Matteo Arnaldi in the opening round and will try to improve on his performance from last year, when he lost to Daniel Altmaier at this very stage. Who do you think will come out on top?<\/p>\n
Head-to-head:<\/strong> First meeting<\/p>\n The start to the season hasn’t been ideal for Brandon Nakashima, although he did make Delray Beach quarterfinals in his last event. Acapulco should be a decent opportunity to build something up again, especially with the return issues that have been plaguing him probably somewhat neutralized by the slow conditions. Benjamin Bonzi hasn’t quite pushed on from his late 2024 glory<\/a> and Nakashima should just be a class ahead on an outdoor hard court generally Head-to-head:<\/strong> Michelsen 2-0<\/p>\n Alex Michelsen defeated Bu Yunchaokete twice in the last few months of last season, but there is at least a bit more to that story with the Metz quarterfinal being pretty difficult and Shanghai coming right after the Chinese had a big run in Beijing. Nonetheless, it’s definitely the American’s game that is developing better this season. Bu still hasn’t shown us he can pull off the upsets from the Asian Swing consistently and it won’t be easy to get that going here.
\nPrediction: Nakashima in 3<\/em><\/p>\nAlex Michelsen vs Bu Yunchaokete<\/h4>\n
\nPrediction: Michelsen in 3<\/em><\/p>\n