Cameron Norrie will meet Adrian Mannarino in the First Round of the 2023 Acapulco Open. The match will be played on Tuesday February 28th, 2023.
Cameron Norrie is the 5th seed here at the 2023 Acapulco Open and is ranked 12th on the ATP Tour. After a very successful run last week to the Rio Open title he will re-enter the top 10 of the rankings, a significant confidence boost ahead of this week. He was able to overcome Carlos Alcaraz who had beaten him in the Buenos Aires Final, but Norrie took advantage of an injury to the Spaniard and was able to take full advantage. It remains to be seen how much he has left in the tank and how he will adjust to the change in surface, and he is up against a tough opponent here in Adrian Mannarino.
Adrian Mannarino is unseeded here at the Acapulco Open and is ranked 64th in the world. His unorthodox style makes him a difficult opponent on all surfaces, but he has been quite inconsistent recently. He seems to have found form at the right time, and enters this event on the back of two back to back Quarter-Final showings in Dallas and Delray Beach. While he would usually be no match for Norrie, the Brit has just played a lot of clay court tennis over the past two weeks, and reached back to back finals. Despite his good form, he may be fatigued and struggle with the switch to hard courts.
This looks like a mismatch on paper but I think that it will be a lot closer than rankings and form suggest. Norrie has the clear upper hand, but has mentioned before will be fatigued and is changing surfaces. However, Mannarino has not shown us that he has that killer instinct to take full advantage, and his lack of power will work against him here. I expect Norrie to struggle early on and may even drop the first set, but he is a fighter and will recover well. Back Cameron Norrie to win outright here at the Acapulco Open.