Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Top seed Alexander Zverev was knocked out of the Mexican Open after losing to Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, (3)6-7, 7-6(4). This is the second time Zverev has been knocked out in the round of 16 in Acapulco, after winning the title in the 2021 edition.
Kecmanovic took advantage of Zverev’s 34 unforced errors to clinch the match with a tiebreak in the third set, after the Serbian took the lead by winning the first set; however, the German evened the score in the second set.
“I guess I was more aggressive when it mattered. I served a lot better than my usual standards, so I’m happy that things went well today,” Kecmanovic said. “Obviously he’s the big favourite, so I didn’t have any pressure there, but you still have to play well when it matters, close out the match and thankfully it went my way.”
This was Kecmanovic’s first Top 5 win of his career. He has improved to 2-2 in his ATP Head-to-Head series with the 24-time tour-level titlist. Into the last eight at the hard-court ATP 500, Kecmanovic will face France’s Terence Atmane in the quarterfinals.
In other action, fifth seed Flavio Cobolli downed Dalibor Svrcina 6-4, 6-4. Cobolli won 86 per cent (37/43) of his first-serve points and saved all six break points he faced, according to ATP Stats. “I love playing in Mexico. I’ve been coming here for three years now. The Mexican fans bring a lot of color to the court and on social media. I’m very happy with the match I played. I don’t know who I’ll be playing next, but I’m sure it will be a tough match. It doesn’t matter what my opponent’s ranking is,” said Cobolli.
