Qualifier Wu Yibing secured his third career Top 20 victory by defeating second seed Casper Ruud 7-6(2), 7-6(1) on Tuesday at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. Top seed Alexander Zverev also advanced with a straight-sets win over Corentin Moutet. Gael Monfils and Frances Tiafoe progressed in notable first-round matches.
The ATP 500 event in Acapulco kicked off with several compelling results on Tuesday night. Wu Yibing, making his debut at the tournament, dominated the tie-breaks against Casper Ruud, the third seed ranked No. 12 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The Chinese player, who had previously beaten Taylor Fritz in 2023 and Daniil Medvedev in September 2025, executed an aggressive strategy while remaining patient in rallies.
"I think I stayed calm whenever he was giving me a lot of pressure," Wu said. "Of course Casper is one of the best on Tour to play rallies, and I really had to stay patient and at the same time aggressive."
Despite landing only 62 percent of his first serves, Wu was broken just once, with the players trading breaks midway through the second set. This victory improved Wu's Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Ruud to 1-0.
In another key match, Alexander Zverev returned to competition after his Australian Open semi-final loss to Carlos Alcaraz. The top seed, aiming to repeat his 2021 title, defeated Corentin Moutet 6-2, 6-4 without facing a break point. Zverev posted 79 percent on first serves in and first-serve points won, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
"Corentin can be a tricky opponent, especially if you haven't played matches in a while, like myself," Zverev said. "So definitely happy with the performance, and looking forward to what's ahead."
Zverev's win marked his 15th at the event, tying Rafael Nadal for the most since the switch to hard courts in 2014. He also surpassed David Ferrer for the second-most ATP 500 victories since 2009, with 117 wins.
Gael Monfils, absent from Acapulco for 17 years, beat Damir Dzumhur 6-4, 7-6(5) at age 39 years and five months, becoming the second-oldest match winner in tournament history and the oldest Frenchman to win a tour-level match in the Open Era.
Frances Tiafoe notched his first Top 50 win since August 2025, defeating Nuno Borges 6-4, 6-4. The eighth seed stands at 15-2 in hard-court opening rounds since the start of 2025 and 5-0 this season.
