Frances Tiafoe makes heroic comeback and reaches Acapulco final | ATP tour | Tennis

Acapulco

Tiafoe makes heroic comeback and reaches Acapulco final: ‘Stars aligned’

American takes on Cobolli for the ATP 500 crown
February 28, 2026

Frances Tiafoe is known for producing entertaining tennis, and he did just that during HSBC’s presentation of Abierto Mexicano Telcel on Friday.

The eighth-seeded American escaped compatriot Brandon Nakashima 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 in a dramatic, topsy-turvy battle in Acapulco, where the American is one win away from lifting his biggest ATP Tour trophy.

Nakashima nervously served for the match at 6-5 in the second set, as Tiafoe earned a 15/40 lead and took the break with a net cord winner. Tiafoe suffered another scare in the tie-break, leading 6/3 before moving two points away from defeat at 6/6.

Tiafoe, the No. 28 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, converted one of his four break chances in the opening match of the decider. Tiafoe deflated Nakashima’s hopes with a double break later that set and eventually improved to 6-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against the 24-year-old, sealing victory after two hours and 49 minutes.

“It’s incredible. The stars clearly aligned,” Tiafoe said. “It started to make sense when I was down, a few net cords. I made every return on 5-6 [in the second set]. Obviously you’re not feeling your best, but just battle and battle – sometimes you get lucky. Played great tennis in the third.

“Never say die. I was ready to empty the tank and see what happens.”

It wasn’t Tiafoe’s first dramatic victory this week. The 28-year-old saved two match points in the second round to outlast Aleksandar Kovacevic. Seeking his fourth tour-level crown, Tiafoe will face fifth seed Flavio Cobolli in Saturday’s final.

Cobolli secured a hard-fought victory on his own as he defeated Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4 in a semi-final lasting two hours and 26 minutes. The 23-year-old trailed 1-3 in the decider before scoring five of the next six games to advance.

With two break points at 3-3 in the decider, Cobolli crushed service winners plus one forehand on back-to-back points to escape danger. Cobolli once again held his nerve after failing to serve out the match at 5–3, and quickly recovered to earn a 0/40 lead the next game. He converted his second match point and raised his arms in relief.

“We played an incredible game,” Cobolli said. “I’m very happy to be in the final here in Mexico for the first time. I think we both played a great match. At the end I was a bit lucky because sometimes you need luck at the crucial points. I’m really proud of myself because it wasn’t easy to come back.”

Cobolli is the third Italian to reach three ATP 500 finals since the series began in 2009, joining Jannik Sinner (9) and Fabio Fognini (3). Should Cobolli win the Acapulco crown, he could surpass his career ranking of 17. Tiafoe leads Cobolli 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.