In a historic Tuesday night time on the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, veteran Gael Monfils and rising star Wu Yibing etched their names into the file books with two of probably the most vital victories of the match’s opening spherical.
Monfils Defies Father Time
Monfils supplied a classic show of resilience, defeating Damir Dzumhur 6-4, 7-6(5) in what was a high-stakes, roller-coaster affair. With this victory, the 39-year-old turned the oldest Frenchman to win a tour-level match within the Open Period, surpassing the longevity of his legendary compatriots Nicolas Mahut and Richard Gasquet.
The match was removed from simple. After taking the primary set, Monfils discovered himself trailing by a break within the second as Dzumhur appeared to pressure a decider. The drama peaked with Dzumhur serving at 4-5, 15-40; the Bosnian heroically saved two match factors to ultimately pressure a tiebreak. Nonetheless, Monfils’ expertise shone by way of within the strain moments, permitting him to shut out the match and snap a troublesome seven-match shedding streak courting again to final summer time.
Making his closing look in Acapulco earlier than his deliberate retirement on the finish of the season, Monfils can also be now the second-oldest man to ever win a match at this occasion. Remarkably, he had not competed within the Mexican resort city since 2009, when the occasion was nonetheless held on clay. He strikes on to face Valentin Vacherot within the second spherical.
Wu Yibing Units a New Landmark
On the opposite facet of the draw, Wu Yibing continued to solidify his standing as a pioneer for Chinese language males’s tennis. In a shocking upset, Wu took down third-seeded Casper Ruud with a disciplined 7-6(2), 7-6(1) efficiency. The victory makes Wu the primary Chinese language man to ever win a match in Acapulco.
Counting on his blazing forehand (it was completely on fireplace) and scientific baseline aggression, Wu dominated each tiebreaks to safe his third profession win over a High-20 opponent. His capability to take care of a excessive stage of play towards the world No. 12 proved that he stays a harmful risk on exhausting courts when wholesome.
Males’s First-Spherical Outcomes – Tuesday in Acapulco
Alexander Zverev [1] def. Corentin Moutet, 6-2, 6-4Patrick Kypson def. Alex de Minaur [2], 6-1, 6-7(4), 7-6(3)Wu Yibing def. Casper Ruud [3], 7-6(2), 7-6(1)Alejandro Davidovich Fokina [4] def. Daniel Altmaier, 7-5, 6-3Flavio Cobolli [5] def. Rodrigo Pacheco Méndez, 7-6(3), 7-6(3)Valentin Vacherot [6] def. Coleman Wong, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2Rafael Jódar def. Cameron Norrie [7], 6-3, 6-2Frances Tiafoe [8] def. Nuno Borges, 6-4, 6-4Gaël Monfils def. Damir Dzumhur, 6-4, 7-6(5)Sho Shimabukuro def. Adrian Mannarino, 6-3, 6-4Aleksandar Kovacevic def. Adam Walton, 7-6(1), 7-6(3)Miomir Kecmanovic def. Tristan Schoolkate, 6-2, 6-2Brandon Nakashima def. Elias Ymer, 6-3, 6-4Terence Atmane def. Grigor Dimitrov, 6-3 6-3
