At No. 8, Tomas Machac is the highest-seeded player remaining in Acapulco–but he may not have an easy time on Thursday with Learner Tien on the other side of the net. Brandon Nakahima faces David Goffin in the quarters.
(Q) Learner Tien vs. (8) Tomas Machac
Tien was already one of the tour’s breakout stars in 2025 and now he looks poised to reach even greater heights at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel. The 19-year-old American, who was the runner-up at the 2024 NextGen ATP Finals, upset Daniil Medvedev en route to the Australian Open fourth round. He now finds himself in the Acapulco quarterfinals, having successfully qualified for the main draw before ousting Cameron Norrie and top seed Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
Up next for Tien on Thursday night is a first-ever meeting with Machac. The 25th-ranked Czech has also been in stellar form dating back to last season and is showing no signs of slowing down with wins this week over Jakub Mensik (three sets) and Daniel Altmaier (straights). However, Machac can go south in a hurry when things aren’t going his way–such as when he lost the second set against Denis Shapovalov in Dallas after dropping the first 7-5–and Tien is always a frustrating opponent. The world No. 83 is rolling right now and has a good chance to pull off another upset.
Pick: Tien in 3
Brandon Nakashima vs. David Goffin
Nakashima and Goffin will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Thursday. Their only previous encounter came on the indoor hard courts of Basel in 2022, when Nakashima prevailed 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4. The 23-year-old American’s hasn’t entirely taken off since then and he entered this week at No. 42 in the world with a 3-5 record for the season. Nakashima beat Benjamin Bonzi 7-6(6), 7-5 in round one before getting a first-set retirement from Holger Rune.
Goffin’s once disastrous 2025 campaign is all turning around in Mexico. The 34-year-old Belgian finished runner-up at UTS Guadalajara and has advanced in Acapulco with straight-set defeats of Rinky Hijikata and Ben Shelton. How much has Goffin improved from January to February? Well, he lost to Rinky Hijikata 6-1, 6-2 in Adelaide; he crushed Hijikata 6-2, 6-3 in Acapulco. Don’t be surprised if the world No. 63 is too solid from the back of the court for Nakashima.
Pick: Goffin in 3
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