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The 2024 ATP Acapulco Open is upon us, and it promises to be another epic event for all those involved. I say this from the perspective of the players and the spectators, as well as the fans watching at home. This tournament coincides with another 500-level event this week, and you check this one out by looking at my ATP Dubai Open preview.
As for what lies ahead for the Acapulco Open, given its status as a 500-level tournament, many top players have entered. The likes of Tsitsipas, Zverev, Rune, Fritz, and many others are the biggest names in the draw. Yet, there are many other talents set to show their skills once this tournament begins on Monday, February 26th.
Of course, 500 points are up for grabs for the winner of this tournament, and these go a long way as we approach some major events in March. So naturally, the top players and upcoming talents alike will all want to achieve a deep draw run in Acapulco.
Anyway, with the action right around the corner, let’s move forward and cover a full ATP Acapulco Open preview before things begin.
2024 ATP Acapulco Open preview – important details
Contents
I’ve already mentioned above that this is a 500-level tournament. And you may be thinking – why are so many high-level players involved if it’s just a 500-level event? Well, the reason is that the ATP schedule 2024 only contains two 500-level tournaments for this particular week.
After these have been played, however, the schedule snaps right back into top-level mode with the famous sunshine swing (Indian Wells and Miami Open). Therefore, the top guys are hoping to sharpen up ahead of these 1000-level events, and the lower-ranked guys are looking to rack up the points for a boost ahead of such tournaments.
As for the specifics of this event, in order to give you a truly comprehensive ATP Acapulco Open preview, I’d like to cover a few key areas, as shown below.
Tournament schedule
With the status of the ATP Acapulco Open, it is only a week-long tournament, as most 500 events tend to be. That said, the main draw is set to begin on Monday, February 26th. Yet, since the tournament is played in Mexico, play will not start until the late afternoon or early evening UK time each day.
As for the expected rounds set to be played on each day, let me give you the breakdown:
- First rounds – February 26th & 27th
- Second rounds – February 28th
- Quarter-finals – February 29th
- Semi-finals – March 1st
- Finals – March 2nd
Prize money
The prize money for 500 events isn’t as large as it is for 1000-level tournaments or Grand Slams, of course. But for the ATP Acapulco Open 2024, the prize money is still more than respectable. The latest reports show that the total prize pool is $2,206,080; the winner is set to take home a cool $412,555, and the runner-up will receive $221,975.
Defending champion
It’s perfectly normal for the winner of last year’s event to come back the following year to defend their points. And this is the case with Alex de Minaur – the champion of the ATP Acapulco Open in 2023. As things stand, however, de Minaur is the 3rd seed. So on paper, he’s not expected to successfully defend his title.
But as we all know, anything can happen in tennis, which is why our tennis predictions today are always exciting to check out!
Event format
Besides the tournament schedule and the prestige of this event, you should know how the draw works so you can monitor things easily. On that note, the ATP Acapulco Open consists of a 32-player draw size for the men’s singles. Of these 32 players, there are 8 seeds, 4 qualifiers, and 3 wildcards.
ATP Acapulco Open preview 2024 – a better look at the men’s singles draw
It goes without saying that the draw, for any event, is one of the most important things to investigate. So, ahead of the start of the ATP Acapulco Open, let me cover the key areas that relate to the men’s singles draw right now.
Wildcards & qualifiers
As you can see, while there are 8 seeds in this event, the remaining numbers are made up of players of various descriptions. This includes main draw entrants, yet it also includes wildcards and qualifiers, as identified below:
Wildcards
- Diego Schwartzman
- Ernesto Escobedo
- Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez
Qualifiers
- TBD
- TBD
- TBD
- TBD
ATP Acapulco Open seeds
There are 8 seeded players in the main draw of the 2024 Acapulco Open. Therefore, this means each half of the draw has 4 seeds, as showcased here:
Top half
- Alexander Zverev (1)
- Alex de Minaur (3)
- Stefanos Tsitsipas (5)
- Tommy Paul (7)
Bottom half
- Holger Rune (2)
- Taylor Fritz (4)
- Casper Ruud (6)
- Frances Tiafoe (8)
Unlike some of the other tournaments played in recent weeks, all of the seeds in the ATP Acapulco Open will start in round one. This means nobody has received a ‘bye’ into the second round.
ATP Acapulco Open preview – outright predictions
The final thing I’d like to cover in my breakdown of the ATP Acapulco Open relates to my outright predictions. To clarify, this means who I think will win the tournament. And to keep things interesting, I’ve provided a ‘most likely’ pick and a possible winner who isn’t completely obvious.
Outright prediction one (most likely winner) – Taylor Fritz
As you may recall, if you’ve been following our regular updates for Taylor Fritz’s next match, the American took the title in Delray Beach just a week ago. This shows he is in fine form and that he will be confident coming into the ATP Acapulco Open. And while, yes, he isn’t the top seed, he’s still one of the highest-ranked players in the draw.
Outright prediction two – Casper Ruud
I’ve been a little unsure of Casper Ruud towards the back end of 2023 and the start of the 2024 season. But he definitely stepped up in Los Cabos last week, and to be honest, he should have won the title. Unfortunately, he lost out to Jordan Thompson in the final, who had the week of his life in Mexico.
However, there are signs that Ruud is back, and he’s my ‘less obvious’ choice to win the ATP Acapulco Open 2024.
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