Seeds may be in shambles this week in Acapulco, but two of the three remaining ones will face each other when Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov meet on Thursday. Quarterfinal action also features Americans Sam Querrey and Taylor Fritz.
(7) Grigor Dimitrov vs. (4) Dominic Thiem
Thiem and Dimitrov will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they battle for a place in the semifinals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel on Thursday night. Thus continues a grueling stretch for Thiem, who captured the Buenos Aires title with a pair of third-set tiebreaker wins over Rafael Nadal and Nicolas Almagro, reached the Rio de Janeiro semis, and has two victories under his belt in Acapulco at the expense of Damir Dzumhur and Dmitry Tursunov. The 15th-ranked Austrian is a stellar 15-4 for his 2016 campaign.
Looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2015 season, Dimitrov has now advanced at least two rounds at all five of his events this year. Still, it could be better for the 26th-ranked Bulgarian because he fell to underdog Rajeev Ram in last week’s Delray Beach semis. A return trip to Acapulco appears to be just what the doctor ordered for Dimitrov, who lifted the trophy in 2014. He has not dropped a set so far while defeating Americans Denis Kudla and Donald Young. His comfort level at his event combined with Thiem’s fatigue could make for what would be a moderate upset on paper.
Pick: Dimitrov in 2
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(Q) Taylor Fritz vs. Sam Querrey
With each passing week, it seems like Fritz’s rise only gets more and more hard to believe. It is already unprecedented in the history of the ATP World Tour. Thirteen months ago (last January), Fritz was outside the top 1000. As recently as October 11 of last fall, he was No. 694 in the world. Still just 18 years and four months old, the on-fire American is projected to reach the top 80 even if he loses on Thursday. Fritz’s 2016 season already features a Challenger title in Australia, a runner-up finish in Memphis, and now a quarterfinal showing as a qualifier in Acapulco. The Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. native has advanced this week with main-draw wins over Jeremy Chardy and Victor Estrella Burgos.
Next up for Fritz is a first-ever meeting with Querrey. The 6’6” American is coming off a semifinal performance in Memphis and he avenged his loss there by upsetting Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday. Querrey preceded that result by crushing Dudi Sela 6-2, 6-0 during first-round action. The world No. 43, however, is prone to letting himself become satisfied with results before tournaments are over and that may be the case again following a defeat of Nishikori. Fritz, on the other hand, could not be hungrier to see his assault on the rankings continue.
Pick: Fritz in 3
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