Fritz advances in Acapulco, Isner overcomes Verdasco

The 2022 Abierto Mexicano Acapulco tournament kicked off on Monday with seventh seed Taylor Fritz bouncing past Adrian Mannarino, while the big-hitting John Isner prevailed in a tight three-set struggle to advance to the next round.

Fritz produced a superb performance to record a 6-3 6-3 victory over Mannarino, requiring an hour and a half to move on to the round of 16. The American was stellar on serve, winning 30 of 36 points behind his first serve. This allowed Fritz to save all four break points faced, making it difficult for his French opponent to build any momentum.

In other opening round action, John Isner fought back from the bring of defeat to overcome veteran Fernando Verdasco in a three-set thriller. The former World No.8 pulled off a 7-5 6-7(4) 7-6(3) victory in three hours and 15 minutes, as he broke Verdasco when the Spaniard served for the match at 5-3 in the final set. Additionally, the towering American hit 29 aces to only one double fault, and remained poised in the final set tie-break to secure the victory.