Acapulco 2024: Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | Mexican Open
Match details
Fixture: (3) Alex de Minaur vs (5) Stefanos Tsitsipas
Date: February 29, 2024
Tournament: Mexican Open 2024
Round: Quarterfinal
Venue: Arena GNP Seguros, Acapulco, Mexico
Category: ATP 500
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $2,206,080
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN+
Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas preview
Defending champion Alex de Minaur will take on Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Mexican Open on Thursday.
De Minaur commenced his title defense with a solid 6-2, 6-1 win over Taro Daniel in the first round. He was up against Sebastian Ofner for a place in the last eight. The Australian cruised through the first set as he claimed it for the loss of just one game.
De Minaur went down a break to fall behind 2-0 in the second set. He wasn't on the backfoot for too long as he swept six of the next seven games to win the match 6-1, 6-3 and tally his seventh consecutive win at the venue.
Tsitsipas defeated Roman Safiullin 6-3, 6-4 to set up a second round showdown against Flavio Cobolli. A lone break of serve was all the Greek needed to sway the first set in his favor.
The second set was a bit more competitive. Tsitsipas secured a break of serve in the ninth game to go 5-4 up but couldn't close out the match in the following game. Nevertheless, he got the job done in the ensuing tie-break to complete a 6-3, 7-6 (6) victory.
Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas head-to-head
Tsitsipas leads de Minaur 10-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter in the final of the 2023 Los Cabos Open in straight sets.
Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas prediction
De Minaur has been in fine form at the Mexican Open, having lost a total of seven games across his two matches here. Tsitsipas has made a slow start to the season compared to his usual standards but seems to be rounding into form now.
To say that this rivalry is one-sided would be an understatement. Tsitsipas has won all 10 of their encounters, with seven of them being straight-set triumphs. De Minaur has won just three sets in these 10 matches, with the last of them being in 2021.
This is simply a case of a terrible match-up for one player. However, de Minaur has defeated players like Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Grigor Dimitrov this year. He seems to be in the form of his life, and this looks to be his best chance to finally nab a long overdue win over Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas has played some of his best tennis in Acapulco and hasn't lost prior to the semifinals here so far. However, he's yet to beat a top 20 player this season. If he raises his level a little bit more, then another win over de Minaur is quite possible, or else this could be the Australian's time to shine.
Pick: Alex de Minaur to win in three sets.