Acapulco Open Odds & Preview: Nadal Returns

• The 29th Acapulco Open takes place this week
• Alexander Zverev will look to defend his title
• Continue below for the top 20 odds to win outright and preview of the week

The 2022 Acapulco Open, also known as the Mexican Open, will begin it’s main draw play on Monday, February 21st. The tournament will go until the 26th. It’s once again a busy week in tennis, as the tournament is one of five events happening.

This is expected to be an exciting tournament, with five of the top 10 players competing, headlined by top seed Daniil Medvedev, defending champion Alexander Zverev and 21-time Major champion Rafael Nadal. Nadal is playing in his first tournament since willing his historic 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year.

Acapulco Open Odds

Odds as of February 20th at BetMGM.

The odds to win the tournament outright seem to drop right off after the top four. Stefanos Tsitsipas is listed at +550, with Matteo Berrettini right below him listed at +2000.

Defending champion Zverev will head into the tournament as one of the top favorites to win, listed at +275, only behind Medvedev at +175. So where’s the best bet? Continue below for a breakdown of the draw, and who might be the best bet to hoist the trophy later this week.

Top Half

The players leading the top half are tournament favorite Medvedev, Nadal, Berrettini, and Taylor Fritz. Both halves are pretty stacked, and will make anyone’s road to the finals tough.

Here we have the opportunity for a rematch of the Australian Open final, where Medvedev lost to Nadal. But what’s a bit more interesting this time around, is not only Medvedev the higher seed and favorite over Nadal, but if he were to win here in Mexico, he could take over Djokovic as the World No. 1.

Novak Djokovic wasn’t fully aware of the No.1 scenarios this week but says either way, Daniil Medvedev “deserves to be No.1. Eventually it’s going to happen. If it happens this week, I’ll be the first one to congratulate him”.

— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) February 20, 2022

The Russian will open his tournament up against Frenchman Benoit Paire. The two have faced each other twice before, with Medvedev leading their head-to-head record 2-0. The 26-year old shouldn’t really be tested until later in the tournament. Look for him to breeze through his first couple opponents.

In his first tournament since the Australian Open, Nadal will look to continue his success, but it won’t be easy. In his opening round, he’s set to take on American Reilly Opelka. Nadal won their one and only meeting last year in straight sets, and will be looking to do the same. The difference is how Opelka is playing. The American is playing some of his best tennis, having just won the Dallas Open, and competing in the Delray Beach Open later today.

Nadal’s terrible path to Acapulco title:

R1 Opelka
R2 Dimitrov/Cressy
QF Berrettini
SF Medvedev
F Zverev/Tsitsipas

— Luigi Gatto (@gigicat7_) February 19, 2022

Much like Medvedev, it’s expected for Nadal to make it to the quarterfinals, and then see each other in the semi’s.

Bottom Half

Defending champion Zverev leads the way in the bottom half, and is joined by Tsitsipas, Norrie, and Carreno Busta.

In this half, it’s possible we get a rematch of the 2021 finals, but in the semifinals, with Zverev vs Tsitsipas. It was last year where Tsitsipas was the top seed, and Zverev was again the second seed. The German had an incredible tournament, not dropping a set, defending Tsitsipas 6-4, 7-6.

Zverev will look to open his tournament up against American Jenson Brooksby. The 21-year old American just turned pro in 2020, and is already making a name for himself. He recently reached the final of the Dallas Open, and could make Zverev’s opening match tough. The two have faced each other once before, with the German taking the win in three sets.

The Greek star started the year a bit rocky when he didn’t perform up to expectation at the ATP Cup. But he managed to brush it off, and had a semifinal appearance at the Aussie Open, was a finalist at the Rotterdam Open, and a quarterfinal showing just last week at the Open 13.

He opens up against Laslo Dere, and could face tough competition as early as the second round.

Best Bet

It’s going to be exciting to see Nadal on the court again, and you can only imagine the type of intensity he’ll bring after being off for a few weeks. He holds the record for being not only the youngest player to ever win the Mexican Open, but also the oldest player to do so. This may have something to do with the fact the tournament was played on clay up until 2013.

His first win came back in 2005, at just 18-years old, and his most recent win was in 2020, at 33-years old. He was obviously able to find success at the tournament when it was played on clay, but he showed that he can win it regardless.

The Spaniard has a tough route to the final, but if he plays even close to the level of tennis we saw at the Australian Open, he’s the one to beat.

In the bottom half, look for Tsitsipas to join Nadal in the final. The Greek is playing slightly better tennis than Zverev is, and should the two see each other in the semifinals, it might be Tsitsipas turn to take the win.

Best Bet: Nadal (+333)

The post Acapulco Open Odds & Preview: Nadal Returns appeared first on Sports Betting Dime.

Read More