Photo Source: TTV
It was a wild evening in Acapulco. And a devastating one for the top five seeds.
All five fell on a day that was marked by illness, while 19-year-old Learner Tien scored another eyebrow, raising victory.
Tien knocked off top-seeded Alexander Zverev in straight sets while the second and third seeds, Casper Ruud and Tommy Paul never took the court due to illness.
Illness also canceled fourth seeded Holger Rune’s match against Brandon Nakashima after just three games (3-0, RET).
Are you sensing a theme here?
Fifth-seeded Ben Shelton was toppled by former world No.7 David Goffin, also in straight sets. It was a windy day in Acapulco, and it was Shelton who took the court first against the Belgian with the sun still making its presence felt in the Estadio. Shelton never really looked comfortable and 34-year-old Goffin took the play to him to earn his first Top-20 win of the season.
A few other notable matches that kept the interest of the fans on Day 3 of the 500-level event, including Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s dramatic three-set triumph over Francis Tiafoe. The American, seeded seventh, saved four match points – one in the second set, and another three with the Spaniard serving for the match at 5-3.
Things were looking dicey for a player who squandered two championship points in the Delray Beach final (to Miomir Kecmanovic), not long ago.
Drama seems to follow the man many refer to simply as Foki. He saved four match points in his first-round win over Italy’s Mattia Bellucci, coming from 6-2 down in the second set tiebreak to win 6-1 in the third.
Credit the 25-year-old for finally taking it over the line tonight. His reward? A date with 19-year-old Mexican Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez. Looks good in paper, but don’t tell the top five seeds about looking good on paper.
Denis Shapovalov also won on Wednesday, defeating American Alex Michelson without much trouble at all, 6-4, 6-3.
But the real story of the day was the California kid. Tien, who defeated World No.5 Daniil Medvedev at the Australian open on his way to the fourth round, outclassed second-ranked Zverev in an impressive display that featured heaping portions of variety, speed, and tennis IQ.
Tien has a knack for knowing where the ball is going to go. He also has the wheels to get there in time to do damage against a world class striker like the German.
Tien didn’t blink as he marched to a routine 6-3, 6-4 triumph, which made him 2-0 against the ATP’s top-5 for his career.
“I just went out and tried to control my side of the court,” said Tien. “To come through feels great.”
The Irvine, California native saved two of three break points and won two-thirds of second-serve return points (10 of 15) as he broke the German three times from six opportunities. He will face eighth-seeded Tomas Machac of Czechia in the quarterfinals tomorrow. Machac, who defeated Daniel Altmaier on Wednesday, is the highest seed remaining.