Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz were both overpowered in the first round of the 2024 Mexican Open, recording surprisingly early losses.
Monday was a day of surprises at the ATP 500 tournament in Acapulco, as seemingly all of the favourites struggled. The seventh-seeded Tommy Paul lost the first set to Jack Draper 0-6, and Ben Shelton struggled to keep the ball in play against Daniel Evans, losing the first set 2-6, before turning the match around and winning.
In the second round, he probably expected to meet his fellow compatriot, the fourth-seeded Taylor Fritz, but the American was stunned by an inspired Matteo Arnaldi from Italy.
The 23-year-old Italian won the opening set 6-4, and even though it looked like Fritz was staging a comeback, after winning the second set 6-4, he couldn't complete it, as he was once again overpowered in the third set.
Fritz lost the match 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, ending his 2024 Mexican Open campaign much earlier than he probably expected. On the flip side, he can now focus on the Sunshine Double, which is played on his motherland.
Felix Auger-Aliassime had similar struggles, against yet another Italian, this time qualifier Flavio Cobolli. However, the Canadian actually started the match really, well completely outplaying his opponent in the first set to win it 6-2.
However, Auger-Aliassime wasn't able to keep that level throughout the second and third sets, losing his one-set lead and the match as well. The scoreline showed 6-2, 3-6, 2-6, and the Canadian recorded yet another early exit.
For both, early losses are certainly a major blow, especially when considering how star-studded the draw for the 2024 Mexican Open is. There are many great players they could have measured themselves against, before moving to Indian Wells, where an important ATP 1000 tournament is played.