Acapulco 2024 Day 1: Men's singles predictions ft. Taylor Fritz vs Matteo Arnaldi | Mexican Open
The 31st edition of the Mexican Open in Acapulco will begin from Monday, February 26.
Four top-10 players, led by World No. 6 Alexander Zverev, headline this edition of the tournament. Grigor Dimitrov and Cameron Norrie were among the notable names to withdraw, though the tournament has enough star power to withstand their absence.
Eight singles matches are scheduled to take place on Monday. So here's a look at the predictions for some of the key matches set for Day 1 of the Mexican Open:
#1 - Taylor Fritz vs Matteo Arnaldi
As a part of the American contingent at the United Cup, Fritz was eliminated in the group stage itself. While he won his singles tie against Cameron Norrie, he lost to Alex de Minaur.
Fritz then performed much better at the Australian Open where he reached the quarterfinals for the first time. He knocked out last year's runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round before going down to Novak Djokovic in the next round.
Fritz next competed at the Delray Beach Open and successfully defended his title. He defeated Tommy Paul 6-2, 6-3 in the final and didn't drop a set all week. Arnaldi has a 5-5 record for the season and crashed out in the first round of last week's Los Cabos Open.
The young Italian was sent home by Max Purcell. While Arnaldi has improved a lot last year, getting past an in-form Fritz could prove to a difficult task for him.
Predicted winner: Taylor Fritz
#2 - Ben Shelton vs Dan Evans
Shelton suffered a defeat in his very first match of the year as Roman Safiullin upset him in the opening round of the Brisbane International. He recovered with a semifinal finish at the ASB Classic. However, the American was shown the door in the third round of the Australian Open, where he reached the last eight in 2023.
Shelton's most recent tournament was the Dallas Open where he was bested by Paul in the semifinals. Evans has struggled for most of the season so far. After his first round win over Rinky Hijikata at the Adelaide International, he lost his next three matches.
The Brit snapped his losing skid with a win over Safiullin in the first round of the Los Cabos Open after which he lost to Thanasi Kokkinakis. Given their recent results, this seems like a clear win for Shelton.
Predicted winner: Ben Shelton
#3 - Tommy Paul vs Jack Draper
Paul has arrived at the Mexican Open in good form. He finished as the runner-up at the Delray Beach Open and won the Dallas Open prior to that. He was also a finalist in Acapulco last year.
Draper kicked off the new season with a run to the final of the Adelaide International, where he lost to Jiri Lehecka. He even defeated Paul en route to the final. However, the American had the last laugh when they met at the Australian Open as he won their second-round match in four sets.
Draper suffered a first-round exit from the Los Cabos Open last week. While he leads the overall head-to-head against Paul 2-1, the latter's form indicates that he has a good shot to even their rivalry.
Predicted winner: Tommy Paul
#4 - Alex de Minaur vs Taro Daniel
De Minaur carried his team to the semifinals of the United Cup, where they were beaten by Germany. During the tournament, he even scored a win over Djokovic and as a result of his performance during week he was able to crack the top 10 of the ATP rankings.
De Minaur then reached the fourth round of the Australian Open for the third straight year but lost to Andrey Rublev. He made it to the final of the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam Open but came up short against Jannik Sinner as he lost to him in straight sets.
De Minaur suffered his first early exit of the season as Alex Michelsen handed him a 6-4, 6-1 loss in the second round of the Los Cabos Open. After a first-round exit from the Hong Kong Open, Daniel reached the final of the ASB Classic. He was up against Alejandro Tabilo for the title but lost the match 6-2, 7-5.
Daniel bowed out in the first round of the Australian Open. After his second-round exit from the Dallas Open, he failed to win a match at the Delray Beach Open and the Los Cabos Open.
Both had a memorable run at last year's Mexican Open. While de Minaur won the biggest title of his career, Daniel was a quarterfinalist and was knocked out by the Australian himself. They're set to cross paths right off the bat this year and based on their form, the defending champion should make a winning start here.
Predicted winner: Alex de Minaur