(Acapulco) Daniil Medvedev continued his quest for the No. Frenchman Benoit Paire.
Updated yesterday at 11:33 p.m.
The 26-year-old Russian can steal the top rung of the ATP rankings from Serbian Novak Djokovic if he wins this tournament.
Medvedev, who won the US Open in 2021, is in his first tournament in Mexico.
“It’s not easy to come back after a long break,” said Medvedev, who lost in the Australian Open final last month.
The tournament favorite came from behind in the second set to defeat the Frenchman.
“I managed to fight to the end against a tough opponent and I’m happy to have won. »
Medvedev will face Spaniard Pablo Andujar in the next round.
If he wins this tournament, or reaches the final and Djokovic does not win in Dubai, Medvedev will become the fifth player to hold the No. 1 ranking in the world since 2004, after Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.
The Russian mentioned that he is aware of this situation, but that it is quite possible that he will not climb to the top of the rankings as soon as next week.
“I’m going to play well in the next three tournaments because I know it’s a possibility. It’s not just a dream for me anymore, it’s a goal,” he said.
The biggest challenge for Medvedev could be a duel against fourth-seeded Nadal, who opened his tournament with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Denis Kudla.
Nadal, who already has three titles in Acapulco (2005, 2013 and 2020), will face Stefan Kozlov in the second round.
Medvedev could cross swords with Nadal for the first time since the Australian Open final in the semi-finals in Mexico.
In Melbourne, Nadal scored a 21and career Grand Slam title, a record, beating Medvedev in five sets in the final.
The Acapulco tournament is an ATP 500 tournament. Since the start of this category of tournaments in 2009, only Dubai in 2012 and Beijing in 2013 have attracted four of the top five players in the world.
Second-seeded Alexander Zverev also advanced to the second round with a three-set victory over Jenson Brooksby.
In the first round, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, seeded third, faced the Serbian Laslo Djere.