TENNIS NEWS – DJOKOVIC, NADAL, AND THIEM OPEN IN STYLE AT ABIERTO MEXICANO TELCEL IN ACAPULCO BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 28th February 2017

TENNIS NEWS - DJOKOVIC, NADAL, AND THIEM OPEN IN STYLE AT ABIERTO MEXICANO TELCEL IN ACAPULCO BY RICKY DIMON

epa05822013 Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after winning against Mischa Zverev of Germany during their Mexico Tennis Open match in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, 28 February 2017. EPA/JOSE MENDEZ |

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal made victorious starts to their Abierto Mexicano Telcel campaigns on Tuesday. After Djokovic held off Martin Klizan 6-3, 7-6(4), the night session continued with an appearance by Nadal and he treated the crowd to a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Mischa Zverev.

Often short on wins but never short on entertainment, Klizan fired winners left and right with his forehand and also befuddled Djokovic with a steady diet of drop-shots. In the end, though, the second-ranked Serb was too consistent for the underdog.

“I wasn’t expecting an easy match, that’s for sure,” Djokovic noted. “The field here is very strong and I got a collision in the first round against a guy who is well-known for playing his best tennis on the big stage. But all in all it was a good performance to win in straight sets. (It was) a tough second set but it’s exactly what I needed at this moment to test myself and my game and I’m looking forward to the next challenge.”

Nadal faced a challenge of his own in Zverev, who stunned Andy Murray en route to a quarterfinal performance at the Australian Open. But there would be no upset in the cards on this occasion. Nadal took control with a break at 5-4 to finish off the first set and it was all but over when he earned another scalp of the Zverev serve at 2-1 in the second.

The sixth-ranked Spaniard turned in an impressive 28 winners over the course of the match.

Next up for Nadal on Wednesday is a fourth career showdown against Lorenzi. The head-to-head series stands at 3-0 in favor of the 14-time major champion, who survived competitive affairs in 2011 (Rome) and 2016 (Buenos Aires) before a far more lopsided tilt ensued at last fall’s Shanghai Masters. That’s where Nadal hammered Lorenzi 6-1, 6-1.

The 38th-ranked Italian earned another shot at Nadal by overcoming Yen-Hsun Lu 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday.

Djokovic, Nadal, and Lorenzi are joined in the second round by defending champion Dominic Thiem. Fresh off another title on the clay courts of Rio de Janeiro, Thiem maintained momentum by beating Gilles Simon 7-6(7), 6-3 on Tuesday night.