Six months ago, when his return to the ATP Tour was far from certain, Rafael Nadal had very modest expectations for the early part of 2022. He has certainly over delivered!

The Spaniard began the year with consecutive titles, including a record-setting 21st major at the Australian Open, and now has the chance to complete his best start to a season at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco.

“The start of the year has been infinitely better than I could ever have imagined,” said Nadal at his pre-tournament press-conference. “Winning in Australia was deeply satisfying. Not so much because of reaching 21 Grand Slams, but because it came at a very difficult time for me.” The World No. 5 played his first ATP match in five months in early January.

Nadal holds a 10-0 record in 2022 after also winning the Melbourne Summer Set. In Acapulco he will have the chance to notch up 12 wins from his first 12 matches of the year, something he has never done before. His current personal best came in 2014, when he won his first 11 clashes.

Nadal’s Fastest Season Starts

The 90-time ATP champion has plenty of motivation to keep bettering himself, even at 35 years of age. “Feeling competitive in Australia and seeing that my foot held up, even playing five hours in one day, [it] drives me to keep playing and it gives me the energy to carry on,” said Nadal. “When I was 23, I thought I wouldn’t be playing at 29. When I was 29, I thought at 33 I wouldn’t be where I was. But for now, I’m still here, and that’s really wonderful.”

Acapulco will be his first tournament as the man with the most majors in history. It looked like an unreachable target when he fell 10 Slams behind Roger Federer after the 2010 Australian Open. His new status has reignited the debate on who will eventually be considered the best of the Big Three, the trio that also includes Novak Djokovic.

Nadal touched on the subject at his press conference. “I think at the end of the day it’s a question of opinion. There are various arguments that could give that moniker to any of us, and all those arguments are valid. It depends where you look. The reality is that all three of us have done much more than we could have dreamed. And from there, let the experts talk about it and we’ll focus on playing.”

Nadal still has his feet firmly on the ground. So much so that he’s aware of how difficult it will be to go deep at the Mexican ATP 500 event, which he won for the first time since it became a hard-court event in 2020 (d. Fritz). “I’ve got a really tough draw,” said Nadal, who could face Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals and his Australian Open final opponent Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals.

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“At the moment, I’m not thinking about those things,” said Nadal. “I’m simply happy to play tennis. I’m really excited to do so after playing so few tournaments recently. That’s why I’ve come here, and because I’m excited to still be competing, not just about results.” His first challenge will come against lucky loser Denis Kudla, following the withdrawal of Dallas Open champion Reilly Opelka.

The match will take place on Tuesday night on the new centre court in Acapulco, which has a capacity of over 10,000. Just being able to compete again after his superhuman effort in Melbourne is reward enough for Nadal. “My only expectation this week is to be able to play,” he said.

Did You Know?
Nadal has won 50 matches at Latin American events in his ATP Tour career. Of those tournaments, he has his best record in Acapulco (20-2).

It is not every day the stars of the ATP Tour get to play tennis at the highest point on a continent, but that is what Denmark’s Holger Rune and Chilean Alejandro Tabilo did Monday evening in Santiago.

Rune and Tabilo, who are competing in this week’s Chile Dove Men+Care Open, visited the Sky Costanera, an observatory 300 metres in the air that marks the highest structure in South America. The pair played mini tennis while taking in the stunning view.

“I was here before, with my family, just to sight-see a little bit. Never thought I’d be playing a little bit of mini tennis here, so that’s always nice,” Tabilo said. “It shows a little bit of how beautiful Chile is. I don’t think many tournaments have the opportunity to do this, so I’m pretty grateful and it’s incredible for the tournament to organise this.”

The home crowd will fully support Tabilo, who begins his tournament Tuesday evening against Argentine qualifier Renzo Olivo. Tabilo, who owns a 2-2 record in Santiago, is playing the best tennis of his career. The lefty made his first ATP Tour final earlier this month in Cordoba.

“It’s pretty exciting. It’s been a lot of new experiences for me. Cordoba was a crazy ride. We didn’t expect it at all. It changes a little bit our perspective of what we can do, and coming in now to Santiago with this much confidence is always nice,” Tabilo said. “Hopefully I can play some solid tennis, get through that first round, and hopefully all the Chilean fans will support.”

Rune, who competed in last year’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, is also excited to be in Chile. One year ago, he made history in Santiago where as a 17-year-old qualifier he became the youngest ATP Tour quarter-finalist since Borna Coric in Umag in 2014.

“It’s a wonderful tournament and this year with the crowd it’s even better, so I just told myself and told my mum I want to go,” Rune said. “I’m so happy to be here and so excited to start tomorrow.”

The Danish star was outside the Top 400 in the ATP Rankings when he broke through in Santiago last year. Now at a career-high World No. 88, Rune is keen to continuing his ascent beginning with his first-round match against Brazilian qualifier Matheus Pucinelli De Almeida.

“I think it’s a wonderful city. Obviously, I haven’t explored so much yet, but now we are here with this amazing point of view, with this amazing mini tennis court. It’s just great for me, because when we play tournaments usually, we don’t get to visit so much,” Rune said. “I’m feeling great, I had one practice, I know the conditions and I’m just really excited to see how I can do this week.”

Jannik Sinner came back from the brink at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday.

The fourth seed saved three match points in a nail-biting second-set tie-break to defeat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 in the first round of the ATP 500 event.

Despite struggling for rhythm for much of the match, the World No. 10 upped his level late on to surge to victory in his first ATP Head2Head meeting with the Spanish World No. 43.

After a tight start Davidovich Fokina broke through late in the first set, converting the first break point of the match for 5-4 and then taking the set after Sinner sent a forehand long.

The match hinged on the second set tie-break. A previously under-par Sinner left it to the last possible moment to come out firing, reeling off five points in a row to recover from 6/3 down and force a third set.

The momentum shift was complete as the Italian kicked on in the decider. He secured a break for 4-2 before serving out for victory, letting out a roar of approval after converting his second match point. Sinner’s comeback was powered by consistent serving, the five-time ATP Tour titlist ending the match having won 78 per cent (46/59) of points behind his first delivery.

Sinner, who made the quarter-finals in Dubai in 2021, now plays former World No. 1 Andy Murray in the second round. Murray won their only previous meeting in straight sets in Stockholm in November.

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Defending champion Aslan Karatsev earlier suffered a shock first-round exit at the hands of American Mackenzie McDonald.

The Russian won the pair’s first meeting in the second round of January’s Australian Open, but the World No. 61 showed no fear in Dubai as he broke Karatsev four times on the way to a 7-5, 6-3 victory. McDonald now faces Filip Krajinovic in the second round after the Serbian completed a 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4 comeback win over Malek Jaziri.

Alexander Zverev and Jenson Brooksby capped a remarkable first day of action at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC with a three-hour, 18-minute epic played out in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Defending champion Zverev was made to dig deep to save two match points in the second-set tie-break before clinching a 3-6, 7-6(10), 6-2 victory in one of the most exciting matches of 2022 so far.

The finish time of 4:55am marks the latest ever finish to an ATP tennis match, eclipsing Lleyton Hewitt’s 2008 Australian Open clash with Marcos Baghdatis, which ended at 4:34am local time.

“Right now I’m happy that I won,” said Zverev after his comeback win. “I don’t know how Jenson feels, but it must be difficult. I’m happy to be a part of history. It was an incredible battle, I think it was an incredible match, and hopefully [there are] many more to come from me this week.

“Today I didn’t play my best, there’s no doubt about it, but I didn’t give up. I knew that I want to do well [in Acapulco], I’m the defending champion and I want to give myself the best chance to win. I did well to survive today.”

Following similarly marathon wins for John Isner and Stefan Kozlov on centre court, Zverev and Brooksby came onto court at around 1:30am local time. The late start didn’t stop them putting on a show, however, with both players producing a top-class level to make it a trio of absorbing encounters on day one for an enraptured crowd.

3am in the morning and you’re playing rallies like this 😨@JensonBrooksby & @AlexZverev are just superhuman!#AMT2022 pic.twitter.com/jLWqmmUFmu

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 22, 2022

Brooksby had pushed Zverev to three sets in the pair’s only previous meeting at the 2021 BNP Paribas Open and he had the World No. 3 under pressure again early, breaking the German to love for 5-3 and converting his first set point to lead.

A marathon one-hour, 51-minute second set, packed with absorbing rallies, saw no breaks before Zverev pulled through in the tie-break to level the match.

The second seed maintained that momentum into the decider, breaking Brooksby for first time in the match for a 2-1 lead and then again to seal the win and extend his match record in Acapulco to 13-3.

Zverev’s serve was crucial in helping him defy Brooksby, the German firing nine aces overall and winning 77 per cent (55/71) of points on first serve.

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“Acapulco is always special to me,” said Zverev. “The crowd is always special. It’s always super loud here, the energy is unbelievable. At 5am the stadium is still quite full. There’s nowhere else in the world where the people appreciate tennis the way they do here.”

Zverev’s next assignment in Mexico will be a second-round meeting with Peter Gojowczyk, after the World No. 95 defeated Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 6-4.

Also on Monday, eighth seed Pablo Carreno Busta defeated qualifier Oscar Otte 6-2, 6-4 on his Acapulco debut. The World No. 17 saved three break points and converted three of his own to overcome the German and set a second-round clash with John Millman or Marcos Giron.

Stefan Kozlov was enjoying an evening practice with 21-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal when the call came in Acapulco.

A few hours later the World No. 130 was celebrating overcoming severe second-set cramps on his way to winning the longest match in Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC history after downing 2014 champion Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-3 on Monday night.

Kozlov had narrowly fallen to Oscar Otte in the final round of qualifying on Sunday, but he took full advantage of Maxime Cressy’s late withdrawal in Mexico to stun the World No. 33 Dimitrov in a three-hour, 21-minute marathon.

“I just fought really hard and stayed focused at the end there,” said Kozlov after his win. “Obviously, I had a chance to win in two sets and cramped up fully, and I had to give away a couple of games, but thankfully I had a fighting spirit today and I just relied on it. I happened to play my best tennis towards the end.”

Absolutely crazy scenes in Acapulco, and @GrigorDimitrov never forgets how to be a great sport.

AMAZING – and we hope Stefan Kozlov is okay. 👏#AMT2022 pic.twitter.com/ZFtoF2lllA

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 22, 2022

Kozlov saved two set points in an epic first-set tie-break, clinching it 10/8, before the drama increased a notch further in one of the most extraordinary sets of 2022 so far.

The American tried to celebrate upon breaking Dimitrov for 5-3 but immediately cramped in both legs, Dimitrov sportingly crossing the net to check on his opponent.

A physically hampered Kozlov was unable to serve out the victory as Dimitrov levelled the match, but the American incredibly found a second wind to clinch the only break of the deciding set and seal the biggest win of his career.

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Kozlov’s second-round opponent will be either Denis Kudla or his Monday practice partner, fourth seed Rafael Nadal.

The American was delighted with the way things had turned out. “Today I was totally expecting not to be playing,” he said. “Now I’ve got the biggest win of my career and I’m about to play Rafa Nadal.

“I was practising with him today at six o’clock and then I saw my messages. I think he’s just a fantastic human being, I just have so much respect and I can’t wait to put on a show with him.”

John Isner was on the brink of defeat Monday evening in Acapulco, but the American served his way out of trouble and into the second round.

The 36-year-old saved a match point at 2-5 in the third set before rallying past Spanish wild card Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(3) after three hours and 14 minutes at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

After taking a tough second-set tie-break, Verdasco had all the momentum. Isner trailed 2-5 in the decider and 30/40 on his serve. But with his back against the wall, the American hit a forehand drop volley from an awkward position to stay alive.

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Isner then raised his level to break back in the next game before eventually winning in a final-set tie-break. Verdasco hit sensational returns throughout the match against one of the best servers in tennis history, but Isner’s 29 aces were too much to overcome.

Another American had less difficulty Monday evening. Seventh seed Taylor Fritz defeated Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 33 minutes to set a second-round clash against Spanish wild card Feliciano Lopez or Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka.

Two younger Americans fell short in their openers. Sebastian Korda served for his match against Dusan Lajovic, but the Serbian stormed back for a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory after two hours and 42 minutes. German Peter Gojowczyk, a lucky loser, dismissed Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 6-4.

It took Juan Ignacio Londero nearly three hours on Monday, but the 28-year-old found a way to advance in Santiago.

The Argentine outlasted 22-year-old countryman Tomas Martin Etcheverry 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 after two hours and 51 minutes to reach the second round of the Chile Dove Men+Care Open. The 28-year-old qualifier saved seven of the 10 break points he faced and converted four of his six break opportunities.

Londero, who including qualifying has won three matches this week in Santiago, is pursuing his second ATP Tour title. Three years ago, he triumphed in Cordoba, and later that year climbed to a career-high No. 50 in the ATP Rankings.

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The World No. 139, who also made the Cordoba semi-finals earlier this month, will next play 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals competitor Sebastian Baez or Juan Pablo Varillas of Peru.

In other action another Argentine, Facundo Bagnis, eased past Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-3, 6-0 in 62 minutes. The eighth seed won his first match of the year against Andy Murray. However, he arrived in Santiago on a six-match losing streak.

After getting back on track Monday, Bagnis will hope to maintain his momentum against Bolivian Hugo Dellien or Chilean qualifier Gonzalo Lama.