At the ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Acapulco, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev can only meet in the semi-finals at the earliest. Returning Rafael Nadal opened against a fellow countryman.
Six top ten players in Acapulco, only two top 20 players in Dubai – as in the previous year, Mexico will once again see a much stronger field of participants. For Dominic Thiem, the trip to the Pacific coast is associated with fond memories. In 2016, he won not only his first 500cc tournament in Acapulco, but also the only title in hard court to date.
The small sand court tour in South America ended rather rudely for Austria’s number one in Rio. Before the clear defeat against Fernando Verdasco, however, Thiem had not lost a single set in Buenos Aires and the Olympic city of 2016. So self-confidence should not have suffered any lasting damage.
Even if he successfully defends his title in the Brazilian metropolis, Dominic will compete in Acapulco and will not take a break, his long-time coach Günter Bresnik had already made clear to tennisnet before the failed final test against Verdasco.
The fact that Thiem is allowed to celebrate a new fiesta in Mexico also seems difficult when looking at the draw. After an allegedly pleasant start to the match against a qualifier, there is a threat of duels with the winner of the match between Kei Nishikori and Denis Shapovalov, Juan Martin del Porto (opens against Mischa Zverev) and a possible semi-final against Alexander Zverev.
The 20-year-old Hamburg man from Hamburg, who is second in Acapulco, will face Steve Johnson in round one. Afterwards, there could be a German duel with Delray Beach finalist Peter Gojowczyk. Returning Rafael Nadal leads the upper half, the top seeded Spaniard has to deal with Feliciano Lopez at the beginning.
Nick Kyrgios (Elbow injury) and Australian Open finalist Marin Cilic had further increased the attractiveness of the field, but the duo had to cancel their start.
Here the single panel in Acapulco
In Dubai, the top seeders Grigor Dimitrov and Lucas Pouille are named. Philipp Kohlschreiber opens against a qualifier, Florian Mayer meets the third seedling: Roberto Bautista Agut. Also a German-Austrian duel has to offer the tournament in the desert emirate: Jan-Lennard Struff gets it to do first with Andreas Haider-Maurer, who uses his Protected Ranking. The seven-time Dubai champion Roger Federer had already rejected the hard court event in the United Arab Emirates on Friday.
Here the single panel in Dubai