Flavio Cobolli and Frances Tiafoe will face off for the third time in their careers on Saturday evening when they battle for the title at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
Tiafoe has won both previous meetings: 6-4, 6-2 at the 2024 Delray Beach tournament and 6-1, 6-4 at the 2025 ATP 500 in Washington, DC.
Both players took the scenic route to the championship match, which is nothing new in Acapulco – a tournament known for long, grueling matches in extreme humidity that last well into the night and even into the morning. Tiafoe saved two match points against Aleksandar Kovacevic in the second round and came back from a set and a break down to beat Brandon Nakashima in the semifinals. Cobolli defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4 after trailing 3-1 in the third set on Friday.
At the same time, each man has put in some convincing performances. Tiafoe got the better of Nuno Borges and Mattia Bellucci relatively quickly, while Cobolli’s week started with outright defeats against Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez, Dalibor Svrcina and Yibing Wu.
Although the 28th-ranked American’s semi-final ended considerably later, Cobolli also had to make a big effort. It is not that the Italian will have a huge physical advantage in the final. Overall, the Italian’s form remains unconvincing. Cobolli has turned his season around over the past two weeks, but he still hasn’t beaten anyone ranked better than No. 66 in 2026.
Choice: Tiafoe in 3
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