(Acapulco) Daniel Medvedev continues his pursuit of the French number Benoit Bayer.
Updated yesterday at 11:33 PM.
The 26-year-old Russian could steal the ATP rankings from Novak Djokovic if he wins this tournament.
Medvedev, the 2021 US Open winner, is playing his first tournament in Mexico.
“It’s not easy to come back after a long break,” said Medvedev, who lost in the Australian Open final last month.
The favorite in the tournament came from behind in the second group to defeat the Frenchman.
“I was able to fight to the end against a strong opponent and I am happy with the victory.”
Medvedev will face Spain’s Pablo Andujar in the next round.
If he wins this tournament, or reaches the final and Djokovic does not win in Dubai, Medvedev will become the fifth ranked player in the world since 2004, after Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.
The Russian stated that he is aware of this situation, but it is very likely that he will not climb to the top of the rankings as soon as next week.
“I will play well in the next three tournaments because I know that is a possibility. It is no longer just a dream for me, it is a goal.
Medvedev’s biggest challenge may be a duel against fourth seed Nadal, who opened the tournament with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Denis Kudla.
Nadal, who has already won three Acapulco titles (2005, 2013 and 2020), will face Stefan Kozlov in the second round.
Medvedev managed to cross swords with Nadal for the first time since the Australian Open semi-final in Mexico.
In Melbourne, Nadal scored 21e His career Grand Slam title, a record, beat Medvedev in five sets in the final.
The Acapulco Championship is the ATP 500 tournament. Since the inception of this category of tournament in 2009, only Dubai in 2012 and Beijing in 2013 have attracted four of the world’s top five players.
Second seed Alexander Zverev also advanced to the second round with a three-set victory over Jenson Broxby.
In the first round, Greek third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas faced Serbian Laslo Djeri.
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