ATP Acapulco: Wu Yibing defeats Ruud in double tiebreaks, advances confidently to the second round

On February 24 local time, the 2026 ATP 500 Acapulco tournament concluded the men’s singles first round. In the final match on the center court, Chinese qualifier Wu Yibing defeated the tournament’s 3rd seed and current world No.12 Norwegian star Ruud 7-5(2)/7-6(1), powerfully securing a spot in the second round.

Wu Yibing

Ruud has a notable history against Chinese players; Zhang Zhizhen, Shang Juncheng, and Bu Yunchaokete have all faced him at Grand Slam events, with Zhang Zhizhen notably defeating him in five sets at the 2023 US Open to reach the round of 32. This was Wu Yibing’s first encounter against Ruud on court.

In this match, neither player managed a break in the first 12 games of the opening set, although Wu Yibing had three break point opportunities. In the tiebreak, Wu took the initiative, winning 7-2 to claim the set. In the second set, both players exchanged breaks early on, leading to another tight contest. In the deciding tiebreak, Wu again took control, closing it out 7-1 to seal the victory. Throughout the match, Wu dominated with 32 winners to Ruud’s 9, and committed fewer unforced errors, 23 to Ruud’s 24.

This victory marks Wu Yibing’s second win over a top 20 player since defeating Medvedev in the quarterfinals of last year’s ATP Hangzhou event. Earning 75 ranking points and $39,985 in prize money, Wu’s live ranking has risen to No.123. In the second round, he will face Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki, who defeated Mannarino 6-3/6-4. Their match is scheduled for 9:30 AM Beijing time tomorrow on the Grandstand Court.

In other matches, former champion and top seed Zverev defeated Moutet 6-2/6-4, achieving a third consecutive win over him and advancing with confidence. Another former champion, Bulgarian Dimitrov, was eliminated after losing 3-6/3-6 to Altmaier. Dimitrov recently announced a partnership with former world No.3 Nalbandian, but his performance in the first match was underwhelming.

Other match results

[5] Kobori 7-6(3)/7-6(3) Mendes [W]

[8] Tiafoe 6-4/6-4 Borges

Svrčina 6-4/6-1 Duckworth

Berrettini 7-6(5)/6-3 Tsuchimoto Rinki [L]

[W] Monfils 6-4/7-6(5) De Zutter

(Text and editing by Dato, photos by Li Jianyi)