ATP 500 Predictions: Abierto Mexicano

There are two ATP tour 500-level tournaments this week on hard courts, one in Dubai and one in Mexico. Most of the European-based players like Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Andy Murray, and Alexander Zverev are in Dubai. Meanwhile, the Abierto Mexicano draw includes top 20 players, including Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud.

This is the last week with multiple tournaments for a while as the players will all come together for the ATP 1000 Masters Series events at Indian Wells and Miami in March. Let’s take a look at the MyBookie odds for the ATP 500 Abierto Mexicano in Acapulco.

Tennis Predictions: ATP 500 Abierto Mexicano

The Favorites

Alcaraz is the top seed and the favorite to win the event. While his titles this year have come on clay, he has had success on hard courts as well, winning the U.S. Open in September. Since returning from injury, Alcaraz has made the finals in every event he’s entered, losing in three sets to Cameron Norrie on Sunday in Buenos Aires.

Norwegian Casper Ruud is the No. 2 seed and ranked No. 4 in the world. However, he hasn’t played since losing to American Jenson Brooksby in the second round of the Australian Open. With more than a month off, Ruud returns to action against a qualifier in the first round.

Taylor Fritz is the No. 3 seed, and he made the final at this event in 2020, losing to now-injured Rafael Nadal. Fritz won the Delray Beach Open in February but has a tough draw with John Isner in the first round. Isner is a big underdog at +224, but his big serve can make any match difficult.

Rune is the No. 4 seed, but he has a tough first-round match against American youngster Ben Shelton. Rune is favored in the first round at -258, while Shelton is +272 after making a deep run at the Australian Open. Rune is ranked No. 10 in the world and had to retire down 6-4, 4-0 in the round of 16 at the Rotterdam Open two weeks ago.

Next up for Norrie

Norrie heads into Acapulco as the No. 5 seed after winning the title on clay last week in Rio. He’s made the finals in two straight tournaments, splitting with Alcaraz, and the Brit opens with Adrian Mannarino. Norrie made the final at the Mexican Open last year before losing to Nadal.

.Take Tiafoe

This event could be a nice launching pad for Francis Tiafoe as he looks to make noise at Indian Wells and Miami. Tiafoe is -182 in his first-round matchup against Yoshihito Nishioka, who is +152. Tiafoe hasn’t played the last two weeks after losing in the quarterfinals of the Dallas Open to J.J. Wolf in three sets.

These two have met twice, with Tiafoe winning in straight sets in the most recent matchup on hard courts in Toronto. The American is ranked 15th in the world and has an 8-2 record so far in 2023. Seeded 6th in Mexico, Tiafoe could be on a collision course with Fritz in the quarterfinals.