ATP tournament in Acapulco, 1st round, Tuesday, 28.02.2024
Does Alexander Zverev carry the German hopes at the ATP tournament in Acapulco all by himself or is there a second man in black, red and gold who can cause a sensation in faraway Mexico?
Dominik Koepfer, the world number 58, is planning to do just that, even if nobody really has him on their radar. And indeed: although he is playing a qualifier in the first round, the odds are still quite high!
That’s why I’ll tell you in my Atmane Koepfer tip why I’m betting on a German success
A title here, a doubles semi-final at a Grand Slam there, early exits and withdrawals due to injury? This 2024 tennis season is not even ten weeks old and Dominik Koepfer has already experienced almost everything!
Right at the start of the year in Canberra, he stood at the top of the podium, and a little later at the Australian Open he gave Alexander Zverev a tough fight despite being knocked out in the first round 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 3-6.
Incidentally, he was almost allowed to play a final in Melbourne after all, sensationally reaching the top four alongside Yannick Hanfmann! Spurred on by this success, from then on he had to carefully consider which competition he wanted to play in.
Even before the first major of the year, Koepfer had revealed that he would hardly be seen on tour without painkillers and would have to use his strength in moderation. The big problem in Los Cabos was that he was eliminated early in both singles AND doubles.
Nuno Borges was responsible for this on both occasions, so the motivation to do much better in Acapulco should be correspondingly high. The tournament began here with a lucky draw before Koepfer even took to the court for the first time.
He was actually supposed to play Cameron Norrie, but as the Brit withdrew, he was drawn against Terence Atmane, an opponent who had only just managed to qualify
Or is it a bad omen that the duel against Norrie will not take place? In 2021, the German took part in Acapulco for the first and so far only time and immediately cut quite a good figure.
He knocked Norrie out of the tournament in the quarter-finals and was narrowly defeated 4-6, 6-7 by eventual champion Alexander Zverev! Koepfer, on the other hand, will meet Terence Atmane for the first time ever on Wednesday.
The Frenchman, who managed to win a set against Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open after surviving qualifying, is not really known as a top player, he is barely in the top 140 in the world
Whether Dallas, Delray or Los Cabos, the young Frenchman has never won in the main draw. It was therefore no great surprise that he made it through qualifying in Acapulco by the skin of his teeth.
He still managed to beat Aleksandar Vukic and Zachary Svajda, but needed five sets for these two victories. After all, he is 13 centimeters taller than Koepfer and wants to use this to his advantage. Interesting fact: they both serve left-handed
My Atmane Koepfer tip
Although Dominik Koepfer is clearly ahead of his upcoming opponent in the world rankings, our best betting providers seem to be predicting a close match, at least according to odds of 1.60 to 2.20!
The German has had a very varied year so far, with both top performances and negative surprises. However, I don’t think Terence Atmane is strong enough to be able to take advantage of the small German wobbles.
My Atmane Koepfer tip is therefore: Koepfer wins against Atmane!
