ACAPULCO, Mexico – Fourth-seeded Casper Rudd lost to Taro Daniel 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (5) in a round of 16 match at the Mexican Open on Wednesday.
For Daniel, the win was his first against a top 10 player and sent him into the semi-finals. Daniel, aged 30, ranked 125th in the ATP, was 0-8 against players ranked in the top 10.
Before beating Ruud, Daniel’s best win was against Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells in 2018, when the Serbian was ranked 13th.
Ruud reached No. 2 in the rankings after losing in the last US Open final to Carlos Alcaraz. Against Daniel, the Norwegian committed 46 unforced errors and slipped to 3-4 in 2023.
Daniel will try to extend his streak of success against Alex De Minaur, who defeated Jacopo Berrettini 6-1, 6-0.
In other matches on Wednesday, Frances Tiafoe defeated Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 7-6 (6), and will face Taylor Fritz, who defeated Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-4.
Also, McKenzie McDonald defeated Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-0, and will face Tommy Paul, who reached the semifinals when Michael Mmoh retired in the second set, and Matteo Berrettini over Elias Ymer 6-3, 6-3.
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