• Kypson knocked out one of the tournament favorites and will now face his compatriot Brandon Nakashima.

Acapulco, February 23, 2026. – American Patrick Kypson (No. 103 ATP) caused a major upset in the first round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC by eliminating Australian Alex de Minaur (No. 6), the second seed and two-time champion in Acapulco, in a match that was decided in three sets and two tiebreaks, 6-1, (4)6-7, 7-6(4). 

This is Kypson’s first appearance in the Mexican tournament, curiously in the week in which he achieved the best ranking of his career. The next opponent for the North Carolina-born tennis player will be his compatriot Brandon Nakashima.

Kypson comes from qualifying, where he played two matches that gave him enough experience to surprise De Miñaur, champion in 2023 and 2024, who arrived as the world number six and one of the favorites for the title. 

Nakashima (No. 29) defeated Sweden’s Elias Ymer (No. 190) 6-3, 6-4, and with this result, the Californian player advanced past the first round in Acapulco for the third time in a total of five appearances at the Mexican port.

Nakashima’s best performance in Mexico so far was in 2025 when he reached the semifinals. 

In another first-round match, Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic (No. 84) defeated Australia’s Tristan Schoolkate (No. 108) 6-2, 6-2 to advance in the tournament. So far, the Balkan player’s best performance has been in the 2024 edition when he reached the quarterfinals. 

Meanwhile, Vincent Vacherot of Monaco advanced to the second round by defeating Coleman Wong (No. 125) of Hong Kong 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, coming back from a set down. 

For his part, American Aleksander Kovacevic (No. 75) also secured his ticket to the second round of the tournament by eliminating Australia’s Adam Walton (No. 87) 7-6(1), 7-6(3), reaching the round of 16 for the second time. 

In the final match of the day, Spanish player Rafael Jodar (No. 114) defeated British Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-2 in just 55 minutes.