Mexican Open 2022: Men's singles draw analysis, preview & prediction
The 2022 Mexican Open is one of five events in a busy tennis week across the ATP and WTA tours. The 29th edition of the ATP 500 tournament will be held from February 21-26.
The tournament features five of the current top 10 players and plenty of players ranked in the top 30 to make it a very competitive field. 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev is the top seed. Defending champion Alexander Zverev is seeded second.
World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas and 21-time Major champion Rafael Nadal round out the top four seeds. The Spaniard will be competing in his first tournament since his historic win in Australia. Also in the mix are former champion Grigor Dimitrov, 2020 finalist Taylor Fritz and rising teen star Carlos Alcaraz.
On that note, here's an in-depth look at how the draw might unfold.
Top half: Rafael Nadal handed a tough draw at the 2022 Mexican Open
Seeded players: (1) Daniil Medvedev, (4) Rafael Nadal, (5) Matteo Berrettini and (7) Taylor Fritz
Expected semifinal: Daniil Medvedev vs Rafael Nadal
Dark horse: Adrian Mannarino
Analysis: Daniil Medvedev will be competing in his first tournament since his disappointing loss to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final. He will have the opportunity to displace Novak Djokovic as the World No. 1 if he wins the title this week. The Russian could still ascend to the top without winning if Djokovic, who is competing in Dubai, loses early.
At the 2022 Mexican Open, Medvedev will face Benoit Paire in the first round. With a 2-6 record for the year, the temperamental Frenchman won't pose much of a challenge. Pablo Andujar or Alex Hernandez will await the Russian in the second round. The World No. 2 won't have trouble dispatching either player to reach the quarterfinals.
Seventh seed Taylor Fritz will take on Adrian Mannarino in the opening round. Both players are in good form, though the Frenchman has recorded better results recently by reaching the quarterfinals of three successive tournaments. Both players are currently finalists at different events, with the former in Delray Beach and the latter in Rio. While Norrie was a finalist at Delray Beach, Alcaraz reached the title clash in Rio at the time of writing.
Mannarino could potentially cause an upset here. The winner will be the favorite to win against either Feliciano Lopez or the qualifier in the second round and reach the last eight, where Medvedev awaits.
After an incredible start to the 2022 season, fourth seed Rafael Nadal will look to continue his run of good form at the Mexican Open. In a challenging draw, the Spaniard will take on the in-form Reilly Opelka in the first round, who won the Dallas Open and is a finalist at the Delray Beach Open.
Nadal could meet either Grigor Dimitrov or Maxime Cressy in the second round. He defeated the latter to win the Melbourne Summer Set at the start of the year. Both matches could be competitive, but the former World No. 1 will likely make the quarterfinals.
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Fifth seed Matteo Berrettini will square off against Tommy Paul in the first round. His opponent in the next round is likely to be Sebastian Korda. Both Americans could trouble him, but if manages to win against them, he could meet Nadal in the quarterfinals. The Italian lost to the Spaniard in the semifinals of the Australian Open and will be eager for a rematch.
Semifinal prediction: Daniil Medvedev vs Rafael Nadal
Bottom half: Alexander Zverev seeks back-to-back titles at the Mexican Open
Seeded players: (2) Alexander Zverev, (3) Stefanos Tsitsipas, (6) Cameron Norrie and (8) Pablo Carreno Busta
Expected semifinal: Alexander Zverev vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
Dark horse: John Isner
Analysis: Second seed and defending champion Alexander Zverev has had a decent year so far. He reached the final of the Open Sud de France and the fourth round of the Australian Open. The German will be eager to get his hands on some silverware now. He'll commence his title defense against Jenson Brooksby.
The American youngster reached the final of the Dallas Open this year and could put up a fight against Zverev. Should the World No. 3 win, the second round will be relatively easier, as he'll face either Brandon Nakashima or qualifier for the quarterfinal spot.
Sixth seed Cameron Norrie will take on Carlos Alcaraz in the opening round. Both players are currently finalists at different events, with the former in Delray Beach and the latter in Rio.
The winner will take on either John Isner or Fernando Verdasco in the second round. After a slow start to the year, the tall American finally found his groove in Dallas, reaching the semifinals. Verdasco's quarterfinal showing at the Argentina Open is his best result of 2022 so far. The winner from this section is likely to face Zverev in the last eight.
Acapulco main draw (pdf view) https://t.co/Xo5UVxRqi6
Stefanos Tsitsipas' health issues hindered him at the ATP Cup, but he has played quite well since then. He reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the third time. Following that, he was a finalist at the Rotterdam Open and reached the quarterfinals of the Open 13 Provence.
Seeded third at the Mexican Open, Tsitsipas takes on Laslo Djere in the first round. He's likely to face Lorenzo Sonego in the second round. The Italian could challenge him, but the World No. 4 should emerge unscathed to advance to the quarterfinals.
Eighth seed Pablo Carreno Busta headlines the most open section of the draw. He had a successful campaign Down Under, winning four of his ATP Cup matches and reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open. The Spaniard lost in the opening round of the Rio Open last week, so he'll be looking to rebound from that.
Carreno Busta will start against a qualifier. He could face either John Millman, who made the semifinals at Delray Beach, or Marcos Giron, who reached the final four in Dallas in the second round. The Spaniard will be favored to win his two matches and advance to the quarterfinals, setting up a showdown with Tsitsipas.
Semifinal prediction: Alexander Zverev vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
Prediction for the final: Rafael Nadal def. Stefanos Tsitsipas
Also Check Out : Mexican Open 2022 Schedule