There was an uneasy air in the air in Acapulco on Monday as the 2026 Abierto Mexicano Telcel kicked off.
World No. 103 Patrick Kypson defeated two-time champion Alex de Minaur, No. 6 in the world, while World No. 114 Rafael Jodar defeated Cameron Norrie in 55 minutes to win his first ATP 500 title.
Capeson defeated De Minaur 6-1 6-7(4) 7-6(4), ending the Australian’s ten-game winning streak in Acapulco. De Minaur, the 2023 and 2024 champion, did not participate in the event last year. After being knocked out of the first set, he did everything he could to get back into the match, winning a tiebreak in the second set and then breaking serve to take the lead in the third set.
But Capson refused to give in. He won five in a row in the decider, then fought back from 2-0 down in the tiebreak to claim his first ATP victory since Indian Wells in 2024. Capeson’s biggest career ranking win will come in a second-round clash with Brandon Nakajima.
Rafael Jordahl brutally attacked Cameron Norrie in a nightcap match in Acapulco, breaking serve in seven games to beat the world No. 26 6-3, 6-2 for the biggest win of his career.
The 114th-ranked former U.S. Open junior champion will face either Grigor Dimitrov or Terrence Altman in the second round. He played some jaw-dropping tennis against the former Acapulco finalist, often hitting winners with little to no reaction.
In other matches, 2025 runner-up Alejandro Davidovich Fokina defeated Daniel Altmaier 7-5 6-3, while Valentin Vachero defeated Coleman Huang 4-6 6-3 6-2.
Aleksandar Kovacevic was also the winner, defeating Adam Walton 7-6(1) 7-6(3)
