February 25, Acapulco World No. 5 Casper Ruud defeated Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 6-3 to go to the second round of the Mexican Open.

The Norwegian, who has already won seven of his last eight games, will face Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez, a wild card, or Aleksandar Vukic in the second round.

According to ATP, Ruud, the second seed in Acapulco, is 14-4 in ATP 500 tournaments since the beginning of the previous season and is coming off a run to the Dallas final.

It didn’t seem like the match would be so easy in the first game. Ruud lost service to 15 after misfiring off his reliable forehand wing after the Frenchman blasted two scorching winners.

According to ATP Stats, Ruud broke his opponent’s service three times out of nine opportunities and won the first game in one hour and forty-two minutes without losing serve.

Last year, the 26-year-old advanced to the finals of both the Acapulco and Los Cabos tournaments on the Mexican ATP Tour. In an attempt to win his first championship of 2025, Ruud will strive to go one step further this time.

Later, Tomas Machac won three sets against fellow countryman Jakub Mensik. He will face Daniel Altmaier, a German wild card who defeated Miomir Kecmanovic after rallying from a set disadvantage.

Altmaier advanced to the second round of the Mexican Open at the Arena GNP Seguros after defeating Serb Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Three times (2007, 2017, 2019), players have recognized the Mexican Open as the year’s top event in their category. After 20 years on clay, the ATP 500 tournament moved to blue hard courts in 2014 and will be held in the Arena GNP Seguros for the first time in 2022.