Goffin Upsets Shelton On A Night Of Acapulco Surprises

David Goffin, Acapulco
David Goffin (photo: Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC)

ACAPULCO/WASHINGTON, February 27, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

With eight second-round matches on Wednesday’s order of play at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, it promised plenty of action for fans flocking to the Arena GNP Seguros in Acapulco for the third day of the ATP 500 event.

However, by the end of the night, all five of the top seeds were banished from the tournament. That’s because two of the matches turned into walkovers – knocking out No. 2 seed Casper Ruud and No. 3 seed Tommy Paul – and a third one wound up being an abbreviated match that ended with the retirement of No. 4 seed Holger Rune. All appeared to be victims of various stomach ailments.

On top of everything else, there were a couple of big upsets on Estadio. As the evening unfolded, No. 5 seed Ben Shelton bowed out. Later, No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev met the same fate as Shelton. It was just another hot (33º Celsius) and humid (56 percent) late-winter evening in Acapulco on Mexico’s Pacific coast, where anything seemed possible.

On Estadio, World No. 14 Shelton of the United States faced No. 63 David Goffin of Belgium, followed by World No. 2 Zverev of Germany taking on 19-year-old American qualifier Learner Tien. The last match originally scheduled on the main show court, in which World No. 5 Ruud of Norway was to have faced 355th-ranked Mexican wild card Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez, was declared a walkover in favor of Pacheco Mendez after Ruud fell ill. It was replaced by No. 7 Frances Tiafoe of the United States against No. 48 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, which was hastily moved over from the Grandstand.

First, Shelton sought to reach his 15th tour-level quarterfinal and to advance to his fifth ATP 500 quarterfinal in the seven events he’s played at this level since the start of the 2024 season – but Goffin had other thoughts about all of that. Worth noting, although Shelton had gone 7-0 after winning the first set this season, he was also 0-3 after losing the opening set.

Goffin, who came in 3-10 versus Top-20 players since the start of the 2023 season, not only won the first set from Shelton in a closely-contested. He won the match, too. The 34-year-old former World No. 7 pulled off a well-earned 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory – just his second win of the 2025 season and first against a Top-20 foe – and it advanced him to the quarterfinal round.

The Belgian No. 1 overcame 25 unforced errors by hitting 18 winners – nine of them from his backhand side – and he won 16 of 18 net exchanges against Shelton, who hit 16 winners but committed 33 unforced errors. Goffin converted two of eight break points and was broken just once. He outpointed his American opponent 73-60.

“It was not easy to start the season, I was not feeling great,” Goffin confided during his on-court interview, after improving to 2-5. Earlier in the week, his win over No. 82 Rinky Hijikata of Australia broke a seven-match losing streak dating back to the end of the 2024 season that he brought with him to Acapulco. “Week after week, I’m starting to play much better, much better in practice, feeling better physically. I’ve played a couple of good matches. I think maybe I needed one or two wins to feel the confidence again. That’s the case here. 

“I like the tournament. I was ready to start on Monday. I came prepared. I got here 5-6 days before the tournament. I won two really good matches with a high level. So, I’m very happy my confidence came back.”

On Thursday, Goffin will face No. 42 Brandon Nakashima of the United States, who advanced by retirement over No. 4 seed Holger Rune of Denmark, ahead 3-0 in the first set after only 10 minutes.

Tien pulls off upset of top seed Zverev

Later, Zverev aimed to advance to his sixth consecutive ATP Tour quarterfinal and tie Kei Nishikori for fourth-most ATP 500 match wins in series history (since 2009). Meanwhile, Tien attempted to record the biggest win of his career a month after upsetting No. 5 Daniil Medvedev in the second round of the Australian Open.

As it happened, Tien pulled off the upset of Zverev, 6-3, 6-4, in an hour and 28 minutes and did it convincingly. The left-handed-hitting American teenager hit 15 winners and made 16 unforced errors, compared to 21 winners and 27 unforced errors by Zverev. Tien converted three of six break points and outscored Zverev 63-54. He was the steadier player.

“I just went out there and tried to control my side of the court,” Tien said in his on-court interview, after advancing to his second career quarterfinal after reaching the last eight in Winston-Salem last summer. “Obviously I knew it was going to be a tough match. To come through feels great. … I think just focussing on what I can control and keeping my cool as best as I can has really taken me a long way.”

In Thursday’s quarterfinal round, Tien will face No. 8 seed Tomas Machac of Czechia, who advanced with a 7-6 (3), 6-1, win over 76th-ranked German wild card Daniel Altmaier in an hour and 38 minutes.

Remember the name: Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez

Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez of Mexico, the only Mexican singles player in the 32-player main draw, rewarded the partisan crowd that packed the Grandstand court with his first tour-level victory Tuesday night.

The 19-year-old, former junior World No. 1 fought off No. 66 Aleksandar Vukic of Australia, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (4), in a three-hour, one-minute thriller, in which Pacheco Mendez scored the final three points during the third-set tie-break – including his 12th ace on match point – breaking a 4-all tie.

Mendez became the youngest Mexican player to win an ATP Tour match in 29 years, since Alejandro Hernandez won defeated Chilean wild card Sergio Cortes in Santiago in 1996.

The emotional triumph earned Pacheco Mendez a second-round meeting with World No. 5 and second seed Casper Ruud, who was last year’s finalist, on Wednesday evening. However, with Ruud unable to take the court due to illness, Pacheco Mendez won by walkover and became the first man from Mexico to earn a Top-10 win since Luis Herrera and Leonardo Lavalle both beat Jim Courier in the 1991 Mexico-U.S. Davis Cup tie.

Thursday evening, Pacheco Mendez will face No. 48 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who knocked off No. 7 seed Frances Tiafoe, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 in two hours and 27 minutes.

Around the Abierto Mexicano Telcel

• World No. 10 and third seed Tommy Paul withdrew from the tournament Wednesday evening citing a stomach ailment about an hour before he was to have faced fellow American Marcos Giron. The 52nd-ranked Giron received a walkover into Thursday’s quarterfinal round and will face No. 9 seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada, ranked 32nd, who eliminated No. 34 Alex Michelsen of the United States, 6-4, 6-3, in an hour and 24 minutes after converting four of six break-point opportunities and outscoring his opponent 66-43. It was Shapovalov’s seventh straight victory.

Early Wednesday, Michelsen became the last of seven Americans to advance to the second round after battling for nearly three hours to defeat Bu Yunchaokete of China, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5). He withstood seven breaks of his serve and was outpointed 115-111 by Bu. Meanwhile, Shapovalov advanced over 106th-ranked American qualifier Nishesh Basavareddy, 7-5, 6-2, late Tuesday evening.

• Late Tuesday, No. 1 doubles seeds Jackson Withrow of the United States and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina were upset by Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Lucas Miedler of Austria, 7-6 (1), 6-4. The win advanced the Mexican/Austrian duo to the quarterfinal round against Alexander Erler of Austria and Constantin Frantzen of Germany, who defeated Ariel Behar of Uruguay and Robert Galloway of the United States, 6-3, 4-6, 10-5, Wednesday evening.

Wednesday’s Abierto Mexicano Telcel results

Thursday’s Abierto Mexicano Telcel order of play

By the numbers

At 19, Learner Tien became the youngest American man to earn a victory over a Top-3 opponent in an ATP Tour event since Andy Roddick in 2001.

“Quotable …”

“Since I was a kid, I really liked to watch Rafa Nadal because I’m lefty like him. His tennis style is unbelievable . I just tried to copy a bit of him. I had a dream to be like him. I met him in Acapulco two years ago. It was his last Acapulco tournament. The feeling, I remember, my heart stopped because it was like a dream to see him.”

– Wild card Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez of Mexico, a former junior World No. 1, as quoted in a Feb. 26 Tennis.com interview. On Tuesday night, the 355th-ranked Pacheco Mendez secured his first ATP Tour victory over No. 66 Aleksandar Vukic of Australia, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (4) in a three-hour, one-minute thriller.

 

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