Flavio Cobolli and Frances Tiafoe will be facing each other for the third time in their careers when they fight for the title at Abierto Mexicano Telcel on Saturday night.
Tiafoe has won both of their previous matches – 6-4, 6-2 at the 2024 Delray Beach tournament and 6-1, 6-4 at the 2025 Washington, DC ATP 500.
Both players took a dramatic approach to the championship game, which is nothing new in Acapulco – a tournament known for long, grueling matches in extreme humidity that goes through the night and into the morning. Tiafoe saved two match points against Aleksandar Kovacevic in the second round and came back from a tie and break to beat Brandon Nakashima in the semis. Cobolli defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4 after trailing 3-1 in the third set on Friday.
At the same time, each man has developed some convincing games. Tiafoe made quick work of Nuno Borges and Mattia Bellucci, while Cobolli’s week began with straight losses to Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez, Dalibor Svrcina, and Yibing Wu.
Although the American’s 28th-placed semi-final ended late, Cobolli was also forced to make a big effort. It’s not like the Italian will have much of a physical advantage in the final. Overall, the Italian form remains unsatisfactory. Cobolli has turned his season around in the past two weeks, but still has yet to beat anyone ranked higher than No. 66 in 2026.
Pick: Tiafoe at 3
