Miomir Kekmanović said it himself. He hasn’t had much luck over the past few years, and this year he entered Acapulco ranked No. 84 in the world – his lowest ranking since 2019.
Add to that the fact that he’s lost all of his first 11 matches against top-10 players, and you can see why Wednesday’s 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(4) victory over top-seeded and fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev was a big moment for the 26-year-old Serbian.
After dominating the first set, Kekmanovic almost lost his chance when he lost to Zverev in the second set tie-break, but he fought hard in the deciding set and never gave up a break opportunity, capping off the most glorious moment of his career with a brilliant performance in two hours and 35 minutes of courageous tennis.
“It feels great, especially because it’s been a rough couple of years,” Kekmanovich said. “So I’m happy that some things are finally going my way.”
Kekmanović improves to 2-2 against 2021 Acapulco champion Zverev and will face France’s Terrence Altman in the quarterfinals.
Atman defeated Spain’s Rafael Hodar 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.
“I thought I was going to be more aggressive when it mattered. My serve was much better than my usual standard, so I’m happy that things went well today,” said Kekmanovic, who won 56 of 69 first-serve points and saved two of three break points.
