Thomaz Bellucci inflicted the first major upset of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel Open with a three-set victory over Fernando Verdasco.
Second seed stunned in Acapulco
Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci inflicted the first major upset of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel Open with a battling three-set victory over Fernando Verdasco in Acapulco.
Number two seed Verdasco, a quarter-finalist at the event last season, looked out-of-sorts as he crashed to a 6-2 4-6 6-3 defeat on his favoured clay surface.
Bellucci is ranked 27 places below his Spanish counterpart but started confidently to take the first set 6-2.
Verdasco fought back to take the second, but Bellucci held his nerve to take the decider 6-3.
Australian Open quarter-finalist Stanislas Wawrinka overcame a second-set wobble to book his place in the second round.
Focus
The powerful Swiss looked to be on his way to victory against Spain's Pablo Andujar when he took the first set 7-5 on a tie-break, but his opponent hit back to take the second 6-3 and force a decider.
But Wawrinka regained his focus and proved far too strong as he romped to a 6-0 success in the final set.
Fifth-seed Albert Montanes enjoyed a much easier passage into the next round after he cruised through his all-Spanish tie with Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-2 6-1.
There was disappointment for eighth seed Juan Ignacio Chela, though, with the Argentine forced to withdraw from his clash with Eduardo Schwank while a set up.
Elsewhere, fellow Argentine Juan Monaco beat compatriot Horacio Zeballos 7-5 7-6 (7-3), Fabio Fognini saw off qualifier Maximo Gonzalez 6-3 6-4 and Pablo Cuevas cruised to a straight-sets win as he beat Potito Starace 6-4 6-4.
Carlos Berlocq and Ivan Navarro also progressed, while third seed Nicolas Almagro defeated Victor Hanescu 6-3 6-2.
