Australian Alex de Minaur charges into the second round at an ATP 500 tournament in Mexico.
Acapulco, Mexico, 27 February 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Acapulco, Mexico
Alex de Minaur has made a perfect start to his title defence at a ATP 500 tournament at Acapulco.
The 25-year-old Australian powered past Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-2 6-1 in opening-round action today at the hard-court event.
De Minaur dominated on serve in the 79-minute encounter, winning 78 per cent of first-serve points and conceding just 14 points across his eight service games.
The third seed described the victory as “incredibly satisfying”.
“I didn’t play probably the way I wanted in Los Cabos (last week), so it was very important to get on the board and feel confident out there on the court,” De Minaur said.
It is De Minaur’s third career win against world No.64 Daniel.
“Tennis is all about matchups,” the defending champion noted. “A lot of the time you forget about the ranking and you’re playing the player.
“That’s the beauty of tennis. Contrasting matchups and tactics work against some players, and don’t work too well against others.”
This sets up a second-round meeting with world No.37 Sebastian Ofner.
Currently sitting at a career-high world No.9, De Minaur needs to return to the final this week to have a chance of retaining his top-10 ranking.
“You don’t want to get too ahead of yourself, in my case, I don’t even like to look at the draw,” De Minaur said.
“It’s a long way to get to that title match and at this stage I’m not even thinking about it.”
In doubles action, John Peers scored an opening-round win alongside Finland’s Harri Heliovaara. The duo edged out a 6-4 3-6 [10-7] victory against Mexican Hans Hach Verdugo and Venezuela’s Luis David Martinez.
Aussies in action – Acapulco
RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
[3] Alex de Minaur (AUS) d Taro Daniel (JPN) 6-2 6-1
Men’s doubles, first round
John Peers (AUS)/Harri Heliovaara (FIN) d [Alt] Hans Hach Verdugo (MEX)/Luis David Martinez (VEN) 6-4 3-6 [10-7]
COMING UP
Men’s singles, first round
Max Purcell (AUS) v [8] Frances Tiafoe (USA)
Jordan Thompson (AUS) v [Q] Aleksander Kovacevic (USA)
Men’s singles, second round
[3] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Sebastian Ofner (AUT)
Men’s doubles, first round
Max Purcell (AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS) v Gonzalo Escobar (ECU)/Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ)
Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
John Peers (AUS)/Harri Heliovaara…
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