Acapulco R1 previews and predictions: Nadal vs. Zverev, Kyrgios vs. Seppi

Rafael Nadal will kick off his Acapulco campaign when he takes the court against Mischa Zverev on Tuesday. Nick Kyrgios is also in action, as looks to put his season into a different gear at the expense of Andreas Seppi.

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Mischa Zverev

Nadal will be back on the match court for the first time since the Australian Open title match when he gets his week at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel started on Tuesday night. The second-ranked Spaniard began his season in convincing fashion upon his latest return from an injury, rolling to the final Down Under without dropping a single set. But that’s where things hit  significant roadblock in the form of Novak Djokovic, who trounced Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

Up first for Acapulco’s top seed is a third career contest against Zverev, who trails the head-to-head series 2-0. The two veterans faced each other twice in 2017, with Nadal cruising 6-1, 6-1 in Brisbane and 6-4, 6-3 in round one of this same Acapulco event. Zverev showed resurgent form for the most part in 2017 and 2018, but he is on the way down at the moment–coming in at 76th in the world. He is a modest 0-1 this year, having played only in Melbourne and losing to Alexei Popyrin in straight sets. Absolutely every factor regarding this match points to a beatdown in Nadal’s favor.

Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games

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Nick Kyrgios vs. Andreas Seppi

Kyrgios and Seppi will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers and for the first time outside of a Grand Slam when they meet again on Tuesday. They have quite an Australian Open rivalry going, with Kyrgios surviving in five sets (8-6) in 2015 and Seppi pulling off a five-set upset (8-6) in 2017. A 2014 U.S. Open affair went the Australian’s way via a 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-4 decision.

Even though it’s Kyrgios (23) who should be in the prime of his career whereas Seppi is 35 years old, that is not the reality of the situation. Kyrgios has been less than 100 percent both physically and mentally for more than a year now, which is part of the reason why he registers at 72nd in the rankings. He is coming off a disinterested performance in Delray Beach, where he somehow scraped past John Millman before falling to eventual champion Radu Albot. Seppi, on the other hand, has already won an awesome 11 matches in 2019–including a runner-up performance in Sydney. The veteran Italian should be way too consistent and get far too many balls back for a combustible opponent.

Pick: Seppi in 2

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