Acapulco (Mexico): Rafa Nadal showed no signs of rust in his first action in a month as the top seed easily dispatched Mischa Zverev 6-3, 6-3 at the Acapulco International tennis tournament here, Tuesday. The Spaniard competing for the first time since falling to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final, has reached the final in all three previous appearances in Acapulco and now has a record of 15-1 in the event.
The World No. 2 will next face Nick Kyrgios in the round of 16 after the Australian defeated Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-3, 7-5.
Nadal meanwhile was in imperious form against the eldest of the Zverev brothers hitting winners on both flanks with consummate ease. He wrapped up the match in a little over an hour.
Second seed Alexander, the younger of the Zverev brothers, lost just one point on serve in a dominant 6-3, 6-3 win over Alexei Popyrin while John Isner, seeded third, recorded 18 aces in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over France’s Adrian Mannarino.
The American next faces fellow countryman Sam Querrey, who beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3, 6-2.
Fourth seed Diego Schwartzman needed more than two hours to advance past Marius Copil 6-3 4-6 6-1. Schwartzman has returned to action after a right leg injury forced him to retire at the Rio Open last week, preventing him from defending his title. He next faces Briton Cameron Norrie, who defeated Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.
Agencies