Miomir Kecmanovic said it himself. He hasn’t had the best luck in the last few years, and this year he entered Acapulco at No.84 in the world – his lowest ranking since 2019.
Add in the fact that he had lost each of his first 11 contests against Top-10 ranked players, and you could see why Wednesday’s 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(4) upset over top-seeded and No.4-ranked Alexander Zverev was such a big moment for the 26-year-old Serbian.
Kecmanovic nearly lost his opportunity when he dropped a one-sided second-set tiebreak to Zverev after dominating the opening set, but he dug down deep and didn’t surrender a break in the deciding set as he finished off his biggest career with a flourish, in two hours and 35 minutes of gutsy tennis.
“It feels amazing, especially because it’s been a rough couple of years,” said Kecmanovic. “So I’m happy that some things are going my way finally.”
Kecmanovic improves to 2-2 against 2021 Acapulco champion Zverev, and will face France’s Terence Atmane in the quarterfinals.
Atmane took out Spain’s Rafael Jodar 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.
“I guess I was more aggressive when it mattered. I served a lot better than my usual standards, so I’m happy that things went well today,” said Kecmanovic, who won 56 of 69 first-serve points and saved two of three break points.
