Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime are set for a blockbuster quarterfinal battle on Thursday in Acapulco. Meanwhile, Lorenzo Musetti will try to keep his run going at the expense of 2020 runner-up Grigor Dimitrov.
(1) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. (7) Felix Auger-Aliassime
Tsitsipas and Auger-Aliassme will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers at the professional level when they meet again in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel quarterfinals on Thursday night. After losing their first two meetings, Tsitsipas seemed to have. a mental block against Auger-Aliassime–having also lost multiple times in juniors without recording a single win. However, the Greek has finally managed to take each of their last two encounters; 7-6(3), 7-6(3) at the 2019 Shanghai Masters and 6-3, 6-4 in the 2020 Marseille final.
Given his current form in Acapulco, Tsitsipas should be in line for more success. The world No. 5, who was a semifinalist at the Australian Open, has erased both Benoit Paire and John Isner in easy straight sets. Auger-Aliassime is also coming off straight-set wins over Tennys Sandgren and Sebastian Korda, but his level in both matches failed to match that of his upcoming opponent. Look for Tsitsipas to get the job done without too much trouble.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 2
(Q) Lorenzo Musetti vs. (5) Grigor Dimitrov
It has already been an incredible week for Musetti. The 19-year-old Italian qualified just to get into the main draw and has since survived marathon three-setters against Diego Schwartzman and Frances Tiafoe. The win over Schwartzman marked Musetti’s first-ever scalp of a top-10 opponent, but that is not to say such success has come out of nowhere. Last season, the world No. 120 reached the third round of the Rome Masters (upset Stan Wawrinka in the process) and reached the semis of a 250 event in Sardinia.
Up next for Musetti is a quarterfinal contest with Dimitrov, who is a former champion in Acapulco (2014) and lost to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals last year. So far this week the 16th-ranked Bulgarian has coasted past Adrian Mannarino and Miomir Kecmanovic. With far more rest and playing in conditions that have always suited him, Dimitrov should put an end to Musetti’s run in relatively swift fashion.
Pick: Dimitrov in 2
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