Top two seeds David Ferrer and Alexandr Dolgopolov will continue their Acapulco campaigns during second-round action on Wednesday. They are set for respective encounters with Alexandr Dolgopolov and Sam Querrey.
Alexandr Dolgopolov vs. (5) Bernard Tomic
Tomic and Dolgopolov will be meeting for the 10th time in their careers when they battle for a place in the final of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 6-3 in favor of Dolgopolov, including 4-2 on outdoor hard courts. They most recently faced each other last summer in Cincinnati, where Dolgopolov cruised 6-4, 6-1. The 32nd-ranked Ukrainian is bouncing back nicely from a shoulder injury in Rio de Janeiro, where he advanced two rounds before withdrawing prior to a quarterfinal clash against Rafael Nadal. So far this week Dolgopolov has taken out Steve Johnson, David Ferrer, and Robin Haase all in straight sets.
Although Tomic tried his hand in both the Golden Swing and on American hard courts earlier this month, neither strategy ended well. The 21st-ranked Aussie lost his second match in Quito and fell right away in Delray Beach to Rajeev Ram. He is back in business this week, however, thanks to straight-set defeats of Ram, Adrian Mannarino, and Illya Marchenko. As indicated by Dolgopolov’s ranking and his past history of success both against Tomic and in Acapulco, this is a steep step up in competition for the No. 5 seed. Dolgopolov is 10-3 lifetime at this event and now boasts three semifinal showings in four appearances.
Pick: Dolgopolov in 2
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(4) Dominic Thiem vs. Sam Querrey
Thiem will look to keep his impressive hot streak going when he takes the court for semifinal action on Friday. Already in the top 15, the 22-year-old Austrian will register at 14th in the world next week regardless of what transpires the rest of the way in Acapulco. He is 16-4 on the season with a title in Buenos Aires and a semifinal showing last week in Rio de Janeiro. Thiem is through to yet another semi thanks to victories this week over Damir Dzumhur, Dmitry Tursunov, and Grigor Dimitrov.
Up next for Thiem is a first-ever meeting with Querrey. The 6’6” American has also heated up in a big way during the month of February. He reached the last four in Memphis, captured the Delray Beach title last week, and has advanced in Acapulco with defeats of Dudi Sela, Kei Nishikori, and Taylor Fritz. Thiem’s tank probably should be running on low, but that did not appear to be the case on Thursday and he conserved energy by steamrolling Dimitrov in one hour and 36 minutes. A confident and aggressive No. 4 seed will likely force his opponent to play too much defensive in what is likely to be a high-quality contest.
Pick: Thiem in 2
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who ya got?
The dog in straights and Thiem in three.
Fritz fan-girl wishes for Fritz
Don’t know how Dog v Bernie turns out; but Dog fans will vote Dog no matter…
Dog comfortably. Bernie ready for Davis Cup and Dolgo on fire.
Can’t believe Fritz lost that match to Querry….he was dominating early on. Dolgo playing great….he’ll win in 3.
Great win for Tomic! It’s a good thing I stayed away from betting that match. I had a feeling that with all the bettors buying up Dolgopolov like it was a sure thing and the Oddsmakers not shifting the line it was a tad bit suspicious. Looking back at Dolgopolov’s track record, he has a big tendency to choke in Semi Finals and Finals appearances. I honestly thought Dolgopolov would win prior this match just based on form but man way to fight for Tomic!
Just watched that match between Tomic and Dolgopolov. What is it about Bernie? he doesn’t seems to move very fast and he looks like he just “dinks” the ball over the net and he wins. I am missing something.
Haha it seems that way but he’s generating pretty heavy top spin. I used to think that too and then I saw a close up of his game in person. He likes to generate spin off his shots on both forehand and backhand. The most important thing for Tomic is rhythm which is why he can get smoked in the first set of a match and then slowly work his way back. When he figures out his opponent’s pace, he begins to disrupt their rhythm with backhand slices on awkward times to force unforced errors and then uses his First Serve to bail himself out on service points. He’s quite crafty and illusive which is why he gets frustrating to watch. It’s why you don’t hear of too many Tomic Fans lol
he’s fun to watch live, I will tell you that much. Mainly because you don’t get the same experience watching anyone else. There’s literally no other game like his.
It’s interesting to hear that Tomic is more fun to watch live. I have never warmed to his game. It’s funky and unorthodox. Obviously, he can throw off his opponents with his tactics, but I just don’t like his style.
just my opinion, but I would guess some others think the same
Thanks! It is very different when you watch in person!
missing a little, but not a lot.
Even Tomic knows it’s ridic when he wins:
https://vine.co/v/i6jTLYZUL2V
Hahahaha! That is seriously the face of someone that is saying to the Camera, “Don’t ask me how I did it! Ask him why he failed so miserably!” Great Match!
Tomic was ready to go home for Davis Cup. The final should be fun–Tomic has no reason not to give it his all since he is already in Acapulco as long as possible regardless of what happens on Saturday.
How did Dolgopolov not beat Tomic after winning the first 6-1. I’m befuddled.
because Tomic
I saw he was playing pretty well to come back with some incredible shotmaking but it still surprises me he stayed motivated enough to come back and win.
Tomic temporarily disgusts me. I say temporarily because I’ll go back and forth on him and don’t want to be repulsed by him. But just when I start to like his tennis and there might be reasons to like his tennis more than dislike him in general — he tanks and pulls the entitled routine like in Quito and Delray.
Then when he comes up against and suddenly beats one of my emotional favorites like Dolgopolov, it’s maddening: cannot be happy for Tommy the tank engine right now. Done with rant, sorry.
I didn’t see the match, nor will I watch the replay. Dog is a favorite ever since I watched him play live in Indian Wells 2011. Love the Dog.
Thiem making ‘Archie Andrews’ look like the lumbering player he’s always been He’s demolishing Querrey with consumate ease. Love it.
Sam can’t help his style I don’t think and it is lumbering. I feel guilty for not being able to get behind his tennis – but he’s hard to watch, imo. Nice laid back guy, though. I’ll take Querrey over Bernard Tomic all day long right now. But definitely too tough to see Querrey beat Fritz.
Bah, humbug. Woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I’ll get over it.
Dealing with the famed Querrey serve with disdain.
Thiem just schooled Querrey in that match. I happened to turn on the tennis channel earlier tonight when the match first started.
No contest.
I normally avoid watching Querrey matches. – one can die from the boredom – but I made an exception last night because I wanted to see how Thiem would deal with him. Ended up feeling almost sorry for him: Theim was merciless.