The beautiful sea-based Mexican city of Acapulco has attracted five of the top six men’s players in the world.
Top seed Daniil Medvedev will play his first tournament since his agonizing five-set defeat to Rafa Nadal in Australia.
The world number two faces a tricky opponent in Frenchman Benoit Paire, who on his day, has an array of shots from hot dogs to lobs.
Nadal, who is on a high after winning an unprecedented 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open is 10-0 for the season, after also winning the Melbourne Summer Set Cup.
The Spaniard faces off against an in-form Reilly Opelka, who won the Dallas Open last weekend and backed it up with a run to the final in Delray Beach, before losing to Britain’s Cameron Norrie.
Opelka is a giant and the joint tallest ATP player of all time. Nadal will therefore have to adapt his game against a powerful big-serving opponent.
It will be interesting if fatigue is a factor for both players.
Nadal after his month-long excursions in Australia and some tense physical battles, particularly in intense heat against Denis Shapovalov and of course, Medvedev.
Opelka, will be playing for a third week in a row after an American hard-court doubleheader.
Tiredness could be a factor also for Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, who arrived late on Saturday night in Acapulco.
The world number four recently played in Rotterdam, where he underwhelmed in losing the final to first-time title winner, Felix Auger Aliassime.
A shock defeat in Marseille came in the quarter-finals to world number 163, Roman Safiullin.
The Greek, and a finalist last year, will be itching to bounce back in Mexico where he opens his account against Serbia’s Laslo Djere.
Germany’s world number three and last year’s winner, Alexander Zverev, is back in action for the first time since a surprise finals loss in Montpellier to Alexander Bublik, at the start of the month.
He will play American Jenson Brooksby, who recently got to the final in Dallas.
Italy’s Matteo Berrettini entertains another American in the form of Tommy Paul.
Two-time US Open semi-finalist Pablo Carreno Busta will play a qualifier, and Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov faces American Maxime Cressy.
Meanwhile, young star Sebastian Korda takes on Serbian Dušan Lajović.
The pick of the opening round of matches sees rising Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz face off against Briton’s Norrie.
Elsewhere, Spanish veterans Feliciano Lopez, Fernando Verdasco, and Pablo Andujar are also in action.
