Another two seeds fell on Wednesday at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel tournament in Acapulco as the quarterfinal lineup was determined without the presence of title favorite and top seed Alexander Zverev and fourth seed Alejandro Davidovic Fokina.
“He’s obviously the big favorite so I haven’t had any pressure there, but you still have to play well when it matters. Miomir Kecmanovic
Miomir Kecmanovic caused the biggest upset by toppling the world number 4 from Germany, a former ATP 500 event champion, 6-3, 6-7(3) 7-6(4) to record his first victory over a player in the world’s top five.
“It feels great, especially because it’s been a tough few years,” said the 26-year-old Serbian, who is ranked 84th. “So I’m happy that some things are finally going my way.”
Kecmanovic was able to withstand the German’s strong serve and take advantage of Zverev’s deep return position, opening the playing field for the Serbian.
“I think I was more aggressive when it mattered. I served much better than my usual standards, so I’m glad it went well today,” Kecmanovic added. “He’s obviously the big favorite so I didn’t put any pressure there, but you still have to play well when it matters, close out the game and luckily it went my way.”
The Serbian will face left-wing Terence Atmane after the Frenchman defeated wildcard Rafael Jorda 6-2 4-6 6-1.
Eighth seed Frances Tiafoe avoided a similar fate when he saved two match points to beat Aleksander Kovacevic in an all-American late-night thriller.
Tiafoe trailed 4-6 in the deciding tie-break but produced a courageous final to triumph 6-4,3-6 7-6(7) and advance to the quarter-finals, where he will face Mattia Bellucci who upset fourth seed Davidovic Fokina 6-3 6-3.
In other action, fifth seed Flavio Cobolli defeated Dalibor Syrcina 6-4 6-4. The Italian saved all six break points he faced and will next meet China’s Wu Yibing, who defeated Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro 6-3 7-6(4).
American Brandon Nakashima ousted compatriot Patrick Kypson 6-4 6-4 to claim his 100th tour-level hard court victory
Nakashima can look ahead to a quarter-final with sixth seed Valentin Vacherot after the Monegasque defeated entertaining Frenchman Gael Monfils, who is making his farewell season this year, 6-3 6-3.
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