Kecmanovic upsets Zverev in Mexican Open round of 16

ACAPULCO, Feb 26: Top sed Alexander Zverev bowed out of the Mexican Open after losing to Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, (3)6-7, 7-6(4). This is the second time Zverev has been knocked out in the round of 16 in Acapulco, after winning the title in the 2021 edition. Kecmanovic took advantage of Zverev’s 34 unforced errors to clinch the match with a tiebreak in the third set, after the Serbian took the lead by winning the first set; however, the German evened the score in the second set. “I guess I was more aggressive when it mattered. I served a lot better than my usual standards, so I’m happy that things went well today,” Kecmanovic said. “Obviously he’s the big favourite, so I didn’t have any pressure there, but you still have to play well when it matters, close out the match and thankfully it went my way.”This was Kecmanovic’s first Top 5 win of his career. He has improved to 2-2 in his ATP Head-to-Head series. Into the last eight at the hard-court ATP 500, Kecmanovic will face France’s Terence Atmane in the quarterfinals. In other action, fifth seed Flavio Cobolli downed Dalibor Svrcina 6-4, 6-4. Cobolli won 86 per cent (37/43) of his first-serve points and saved all six break points he faced, according to ATP Stats.In another match of the day, Spain’s Rafael Jódar was eliminated from the tournament after losing 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 to France’s Terence Atmane (No. 163). He lost the first set by committing 14 unforced errors and leaving many balls in the net. However, in the second set, the Spanish player recovered, but he was unable to overcome the Frenchman in the third set, who showed his power with his left hand. (IANS)