Zverev overcomes adversity in difficult start in Acapulco

Alexander Zverev was pushed to the limit to have a successful performance at the Mexican Open Tennis Championships in Acapulco (AMT), after needing three sets to beat Italian Matteo Arnaldi with scores of 6-7, 6-3 and 6-4 on the second day of the tournament.

Zverev , the top favorite in the port of Guerrero after arriving as the second best player in the ATP rankings and the most recent finalist at the Australian Open , did not have good shots in the tie break that Arnaldi won 7-2 to take the lead after the first set.

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The German was able to recover by improving his performance on the first serve and breaking serve twice to tie the game in the second set and take control of the match.

Arnaldi , who is ranked 33rd in the ATP rankings , tried to complicate the top seed's victory, without success, after suffering another break in the third set that cleared the way to victory for the German.

The Italian, who faced Zverev for the first time, had the opportunity to recover the break he suffered, but the German pushed to maintain the advantage until achieving the victory that required 2:44 hours on the main court of the Guerrero complex.

The German was not in top form on this evening of his debut after achieving only 68 percent of his first serves.

Zverev is back in Acapulco in search of his second crown in the tournament after the one he won in the 2021 edition. With this, he reached seven participations in which he has played two finals in 2019 and the one in which he was crowned.

PACHECO COMES OUT AHEAD

Mexican Rodrigo Pacheco had a successful start in Acapulco , after beating Australian Aleksandar Vukic in three sets with scores of 7-5, 6-4 and 7-6.

The 19-year-old Mexican showed nerves of steel in the tie-break that gave him victory with precise shots to prevail 7-4.

Pacheco is currently ranked 355th in the ATP rankings . He is the only Mexican in the singles competition and in the next round he will have to face one of the favorites, the Norwegian Casper Ruud .

The tricolor achieved 16 aces , in addition to achieving a pair of service breaks.

In another duel, Dane Holger Rune began a new feat in search of crowning his participation in the Acapulco Open with a title, after winning in straight sets by 7-6 and 6-3 against the Spaniard Roberto Carballés .

Rune has participated in the most recent two editions, reaching the semi-finals.

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