• The three-time champion of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC started with the right foot in this XXIX edition.
• Rafa was happy with the welcoming of the public and for winning in his first game.

Acapulco, February 22^nd, 2022. – The fan’s favorite had no major complications to get to the second round. The Spaniard Rafael Nadal defeated Denis Kudla with straight sets in his debut at the XXIX edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

Rafa became very demanding with his own serve, plus, he only allowed himself to lose two points during the first set. In the returning serve, the Spaniard managed to get three break opportunities; one was enough to secure the first set 6-3.

Kudla’s luck ended, he was one of the Lucky Losers in the previous round. However, that luck faded once he was inside the main draw. He suffered even more during the second set, where he lost his serve on a couple of occasions.

Nadal sealed his pass to the second round with a score of 6-3, 6-2 in just one hour and 16 minutes of game, quite the contrary to what he experienced during the first day of the tournament with a match that lasted more than three hours. However, the Spaniard confirmed his match against the American Stefan Kozlov, where he will try to the get to the quarterfinals.

After winning his first game in this Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, the Spaniard again shared the reasons why he decided to return to Acapulco during this week despite the fatigue he suffered in the last edition of the Australian Open.

“During this past last year, even two years , I have competed very little, which is why I’m thrilled to be here. My body recovered logically speaking, because I wanted to play, I wanted to continue competing. I am excited to do so, and I felt that I could. That’s why I have come to spend a few days here, I even won the first game,” shared Nadal at a press conference.
Rafael also took the opportunity to thank the “tournament’s management who supports our sport, which is what they are doing here right now”, he confirmed that “it has been a beautiful night, playing with the public here has always been special to me”.

• The Russian, No. 2 of the world, defeated the French B. Paire
• Medvedev is headed to a semifinal against Nadal

During the inauguration of the new venue, two of the most favorite players, Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev, were welcomed by the Mexican public with a huge applause for advancing to the second round. The finalists of the Australian Open could meet again in what would be a dream semifinal at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

During the second day of the tournament in the new Arena GNP Seguros, the Russian Daniil Medvedev opened the day in the Stadium and managed to defeat the French Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour and 42 minutes. The No. 2 of the world, which aspires to be number one soon, found that the winner of 21 Grand Slams would be his biggest challenge in order to get to the final in Acapulco.

Meanwhile, he shared that he is enjoying his first experience in Acapulco and ensures that the environment has been everything he expected.

“So far I love it. I arrived here a few days earlier to get used to the climate. I’m enjoying every day here, it’s easier to be here when you play, it’s very humid, but of course you enjoy yourself during the day, it’s the best part. The court was great, everything I heard from the tournament is true. I love it so far, but the most important thing is what happens on the court. I achieved my first victory and will try to stay here.”

Although Daniil Medvedev did not have the best day with his first serve, he had nine double faults, however, his experience and the great tennis were key to defeat the number 49 player in the world.

• The reigning champion faced a difficult challenge in his duel against J. Brooksby
• The No. 3 in the world starred in a match that lasted more than three hours in the first day

Acapulco, February 21st, 2022. – During the inauguration day at the new Arena GNP Seguros, which will be remembered for the three longest matches in the history of the tournament, the German struggled when he played against the American Jenson Brooksby in the quest to defend his title, however, he finally managed to advance to the second round of the Tournament.

In a close encounter that lasted until Tuesday’s early morning, the 21-year-old man, and No. 47, showed no fear before the number three in the world and took advantage of the Zverev’s double faults and failed serves to defeat him 6-3 in the first set.

Sascha, winner of 19 titles in the ATP Tour, mentioned that the draw for the XXIX edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC was complicated, but that it would be a fun week since he enjoys Acapulco.

“It’s the strongest ATP 500, we have four Top 5. It’s going to be very difficult, that’s why I think several of the Top Teams are coming to see in which level they stand, it’s not going to be easy. I’m happy to be here, it’s one of my favorite tournaments of the year, it’s a great stadium.”

The second set was a battle which lasted almost two hours where neither player let their guard down. The match was defined in a tie breaker that gave Zverev a chance to turn the score around.  Both players started getting fatigued, but at almost 5 am, the German ended up defeating Jenson 6-2.

In 2021, Alexander won the title in Acapulco against Stefanos Tsitsipas, a historic year in his career, as he closed the season with a second victory in the ATP Finals, he also won the gold medal in Tokyo. Prior to the current edition at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, he reached the final in Montpellier.

GAME ORDER, FEBRUARY 22^ND 

Stadium:

Daniil Medvedev vs Benoit Paire

Rafael Nadal vs Denis Kudla

Laslo Djere vs Stefanos Tsitsipas 

GrandStand Hot.mx:

Tommy Paul vs Matteo Berrettini 

Cameron Norrie vs Daniel Altmaier

J.J Wolf vs Lorenzo Sonego

Acapulco, February 22^nd, 2022. – Raúl Zurutuza, director of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, promised today that in the tournament’s new venue, the Arena GNP Seguros, “incredible stories will continue to be written as well as memorable matches”.

During the inauguration ceremony, on the stadium court, the day before the stellar match between German Alexander Zverev and Jenson Brooksby, Zurutuza said it was “a very emotional day for everyone who works at Mextenis as well as for the people who have worked on this project”.

“After many years of planning, challenges, and working hours, we started a new era,” added the director, and also celebrated the partnership with Mextenis and Mundo Imperial.

The executive team also shared a few words of appreciation for the fans; they said that their fan’s support was essential to boost the tournament’s growth.

The Main Stadium is designed to welcome more than 10,000 comfortably seated fans, who will appreciate sports events and other shows.

The president of the Mextenis Board of Directors, Renata Burillo, and the president of Grupo Autofin Mexico and Grupo Mundo Imperial, Juan Antonio Hernández were present on the inauguration.

• Grigor Dimitrov and Stefan Kozlov played the longest match in the tournament’s history.
• John Isner and Ferandno Verdasco also played a match that lasted more than three hours.
• Taylor Fritz avoided surprises in the first round.

Acapulco, February 22nd, 2022. – There is always an opportunity to make history at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. Grigor Dimitrov and Stefen Kozlov played the longest match in the history of the tournament, just after John Isner and Fernando Verdasco also played a 3-hour match on the first match of the day.

Kozlov, who got to the main draw as a Lucky Loser, defeated Dimitrov 7-6, 5-7, 6-3 after 3 hours and 21 minutes. Previously, John Isner had eliminated Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 after 3 hours and 13 minutes of play. Both matches were confirmed as the two longest encounters in the history of the tournament.

Previously, the main draw’s first win was for Taylor Fritz. The American defeated Adrian Mannarino by a double 6-3 in the first match that was played in the new Grandstand Caliente.mx.

In other results, Pablo Carreño Busta, Dusan Lajovic and Peter Gojowczyk also got their pass to the second round. The Spaniard defeated Oscar Otte 6-2, 6-4, the Serbian beat Sebastian Korda 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 and the Lucky Loser did the same against Brandon Nakashima with a double 6-4.

Acapulco, February 21st. – Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, emblematic characters of Disney, were present today along with the Italian Mateo Berrettini (No. 6), the British Cameron Norrie (No. 12) and the Mexican Santiago González who participated in the traditional Kids Day in the XXIX edition of the Abierto Mexicano de Telcel presentado por HSBC.

Kids Day is an opportunity for girls and boys in the tournament to approach the stars who play in Acapulco; the players give them advice, gifts and they also share their training.

This past Monday, the three players achieved what Kids Day is all about. “These types of activities are very important to motivate children,” said the Mexican Santiago González, who will play in the doubles tournament with the Argentine Andrés Molteni.

Berrettini was the most popular and had a full audience on court 2 of the Arena GNP Seguros. He was greeted with the public’s admiration: “Matteo, Matteo!”.

The Italian, who trained for an hour with the Mexican Manuel Sánchez, showed a little bit of the technique that has led him to be number 6 of the world.

The activity came to and end with the Mexican Santiago González and the British Cameron Norrie. Gonzalez will face Norrie in the first round of the doubles tournament on Wednesday.

• The new venue of the tournament, the Arena GNP Seguros, is ready for the XXIX edition of the tournament
• “The arena is ready to welcome as the opening event a tennis tournament with the best players in the world, and in the coming months, will also host other shows and concerts,” Renata Burillo said, president of MexTenis.

Acapulco, February 21^st, 2022. – This Monday, the President of the Board of Directors of Mextenis, Renata Burillo, participated in the inauguration of the Arena GNP Seguros, the new home of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, the most important tournament, in its category, in Latin America.

The work invested on the sport complex, whose main stadium has a capacity for 10,229 people, was completed a few weeks ago, meanwhile, during this past weekend, all of the last details were finished. The venue is ready to receive the largest capacity in its history.

“A year ago, this project was only being presented, today, it’s a reality. During this time in Grupo Pegaso, we have witnessed a strong effort during recent months in order for us to reach success this week,” said Renata Burillo, the president of MexTenis, in a press conference.

She mentioned that it has been 12 months of intense work “both in the construction of this Arena, as well as to a strategic level to prepare and finalize what we consider the best team of players in the history of the tournament”, with the Spanish Rafael Nadal in mind.

Burillo said that from now on for the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC and the Arena GNP Seguros ” a new era of challenges in which they will be “great allies”.

“The arena is ready to welcome as the opening event a tennis tournament with the best players in the world, and in the coming months, will also host other shows and concerts,” explained Burillo.

The director of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por, Raúl Zurutuza, remarked that the XXIX edition of the tournament has the best players in history in Acapulco, with five Top 10 players, the tickets for the six-days tournament are now sold out, which guarantees a full capacity during the Tournament.

“The public has responded incredibly; we have sold all the tickets. We believe that we will do incredible and we will leave a very big challenge for the XXX edition next year,” said Zurutuza.

Regarding the inauguration of the Arena GNP Seguros, the director of the tournament pointed out that he has “finally achieved a dream he has pursued for many years by Grupo Pegaso and Mextenis“

At the inauguration of the tournament’s new venue, the president of Grupo Autofin Mexico and Grupo Mundo Imperial, the public accountant, Juan Antonio Hernández, thanked his Mextenis partners and mentioned that after the tournament, they will get to work on the functionality of the complex.

“We’ve worked on this project with a lot of affection. We want this ‘monster’ to stand out globally,’ said Hernandez, who pledged to also hold at least 20 more events this year.

“We are going to become a global attraction. We have to grow in illusion and investment,” he said.

Also, the Governor of the State of Guerrero, Evelyn Salgado, pointed out that the new stadium, Arena GNP Seguros, “comes to reinforce the tourist vocation of Acapulco and is one of the largest and most modern venues in the world”.

She also thanked investors and workers “because 100% of the work force is from Guerrero ” and pledged to guarantee the conditions of governance and security.  “We have to keep working for the good of our state,” she said. 

The Main Stadium is designed to have more than 10,000 comfortably seated fans, who will appreciate this edition with authentic duels among the best tennis players in the world.

The venue has a Grand Stand (Grand Stand Caliente.mx) with a capacity of more than 2,000 people, 4 alternate courts with the capacity of more than 2,200 people, also privileged open spaces with food and drink areas, restaurants, shops and an extensive commercial and entertainment area.

• Altmaier was immune to the surprises and confirmed his good level in the qualys.
• Two more players made it to the first round despite their defeats.

Acapulco, February 20th, 2022. – The Qualy ended up with more than four winners, since two other players also celebrated their entrance to the main draw. Thanks to a couple of casualties in the main draw, two tennis players celebrated victory even though they fell in the last match in the previous round.

The German Daniel Altmaier had to come from behind to defeat Denis Kudla, who had previously eliminated the Mexican Rodrigo Pacheco in his first match. The first qualifier of the previous round got his ticket to the main draw after a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory, while the American was one of the Lucky Losers.

In a duel that ended with two winners, Jeffrey John Wolf caught up to Kevin Anderson, two-time finalist of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. The American won 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 after more than two and a half hours of play and got his first-round pass.

The final match of the day defined the rest of the places for the main draw. Oscar Otte defeated Stefan Kozlov 6-1, 0-6, 7-6. Previously, Yoshihito Nishioka had surpassed Peter Gojowczyk 6-3, 6-2, but the German also advanced to the main draw as another Lucky Loser, thanks to Reilly Opelka’s defeat.

The staff in charge of stringing all of the players’ rackets have become a fundamental part of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. They are responsible for creating the perfect tool for the players.

Javier Cárdenas is in charge of the stringers staff,  made up of four Mexican elements. “My job is to receive the rackets, all the requests that players want in terms of tension, what logo, what kind of string they will occupy,” Javo explained in an interview.

Although it is one of the most interesting jobs in tennis, you have to be prepared to meet the requests of the players: “There are players who arrive an hour before the game and during the game they send more rackets to string. Some other requests arrive at night,” he said.

On average, the stringer team handles 30 to 50 rackets a day, so they play a fundamental role for the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.