Miomir Kecmanovic claimed his first career win over a top-5 player by defeating Alexander Zverev in a three-set thriller at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. The 26-year-old Serbian, ranked No. 84, advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(4) victory over the world No. 4. Other seeds faced challenges as the tournament progressed into its later stages.
On Wednesday at the ATP 500 event in Acapulco, Miomir Kecmanovic produced some of his best tennis to upset Alexander Zverev, the 2021 champion. Entering the match with an 0-11 record against top-5 opponents in the PIF ATP Rankings, Kecmanovic relied on confident backhand play and aggressive serving to secure the win. Zverev committed 17 unforced errors on his backhand, compared to Kecmanovic's six, allowing the underdog to open the court effectively.
"It feels amazing, especially because it's been a rough couple of years," Kecmanovic said. "So I'm happy that some things are going my way finally." He added, "I guess I was more aggressive when it mattered. I served a lot better than my usual standards... Obviously he's the big favourite, so I didn't have any pressure there, but you still have to play well when it matters."
The victory improves Kecmanovic's Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Zverev to 2-2. He will next face Terence Atmane in the quarter-finals, after the Frenchman defeated wild card Rafael Jodar 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.
In other notable results, eighth seed Frances Tiafoe saved two match points to edge Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7) in an all-American affair. Tiafoe advances to play Mattia Bellucci, who upset fourth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 6-3.
Fifth seed Flavio Cobolli progressed by beating Dalibor Svrcina 6-4, 6-4, winning 86 percent of his first-serve points and saving all six break points faced. Cobolli's next opponent is Wu Yibing, who overcame Sho Shimabukuro 6-3, 7-6(4).
Brandon Nakashima marked his 100th tour-level hard-court win by defeating Patrick Kypson 6-4, 6-4. He will meet sixth seed Valentin Vacherot, who dispatched Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-3. Monfils, in his final ATP Tour season, had earned his first victory of 2026 against Damir Dzumhur in the opening round.
