Wu upsets Ruud, top seed Zverev advances in Acapulco

  • Posted: Feb 25, 2026

Qualifier Wu Yibing earned the third Top 20 win of his career Tuesday night with a 7-6(2), 7-6(1) upset of third seed Casper Ruud at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

The Chinese star, who previously beat Taylor Fritz in 2023 and Daniil Medvedev last September, was flawless in the two tie-breaks as he took the match to Ruud with an aggressive game plan.

“I think I stayed calm whenever he was giving me a lot of pressure,” said Wu. “Of course Casper is one of the best on Tour to play rallies, and I really had to stay patient and at the same time aggressive.”

Wu made just 62 per cent of his first serves, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and felt the pressure from Ruud attacking his second serves. But he was broken just once, with the pair trading breaks midway through set two. 

With the victory against the No. 12 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, the Acapulco debutant improved to 1-0 at the event and in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Ruud.

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In his first competitive action since his defeat in an epic Australian Open semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev also made a sharp start to his campaign on Tuesday night in Acapulco.

Seeking to repeat his title triumph at the ATP 500 in 2021, Zverev dominated in a 6-2, 6-4 victory against Corentin Moutet. The top-seeded German did not allow a break point, according to Infosys ATP Stats, posting matching 79 per cent marks on first serves in and first-serve points won.

“Corentin can be a tricky opponent, especially if you haven’t played matches in a while, like myself,” Zverev said of the Frenchman, who was seeking his 100th tour-level win. “So definitely happy with the performance, and looking forward to what’s ahead.”

With his 15th win in Acapulco, Zverev (15-5) moved level with Rafael Nadal (15-2) for most wins at the event since it switched to hard courts in 2014. He also passed David Ferrer for the second-most ATP 500 wins since the series began in 2009, with his 117 victories (117-49) trailing only Nadal’s 121 (121-19).

Gael Monfils, returning to Acapulco for the first time in 17 years, also advanced on Tuesday night with a 6-4, 7-6(5) win against Damir Dzumhur. The result makes the wild card the second-oldest match winner in tournament history after Feliciano Lopez (41 in 2023).

At 39 years and five months, Monfils is also the oldest Frenchman to win a tour-level match in the Open Era.

Frances Tiafoe also earned a notable victory Tuesday, notching his first Top 50 win since Cincinnati last August by beating Nuno Borges 6-4, 6-4. The eighth seed improved to 15-2 in opening rounds at hard-court events since the start of 2025, and 5-0 this season.

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