Italy's Flavio Cobolli won the Mexican Open in Acapulco by defeating Frances Tiafoe of the United States in straight sets on Saturday. The world number 20 secured a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory in two hours and nine minutes to claim his third career ATP Tour title. Cobolli overcame a resilient performance from Tiafoe at the Arena GNP Seguros.
Flavio Cobolli, ranked 20th in the world, captured the ATP 500 title at the Mexican Open in Acapulco after a competitive final against Frances Tiafoe. The match, lasting two hours and nine minutes, saw Cobolli prevail 7-6(4), 6-4 in straight sets.
The first set was tightly contested, with Tiafoe saving a set point on his serve at 5-4. It proceeded to a tiebreak, where Cobolli quickly gained a 6-4 lead and sealed the set when Tiafoe hit a forehand wide. In the second set, Tiafoe faced early pressure and suffered a break to trail 3-2. Cobolli extended the lead to 4-2, but Tiafoe mounted a fightback, breaking back to level at 4-4 after Cobolli's forehand clipped the net and went long.
Cobolli responded immediately, breaking Tiafoe again to lead 5-4 and then holding serve to win the match. This victory marks Cobolli's third ATP Tour title and his first at the 500 level.
Both players had advanced through challenging semi-finals the previous day. Cobolli defeated unseeded Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 in nearly two and a half hours, relying on defensive resilience and fitness to overcome Kecmanovic's aggressive play following his upset of top seed Alexander Zverev. Tiafoe, meanwhile, staged a comeback against compatriot Brandon Nakashima, winning 3-6, 7-6(8-6), 6-4 in a late-night match, improving his first-serve percentage to 72% in the decider to secure his first Acapulco final appearance in eight attempts.
The final highlighted contrasting paths to the title, with Cobolli's steady performance prevailing over Tiafoe's determined resistance.
