• The three-time champion of Acapulco said he was happy to return to a tournament where he has always received great support from the public.
• Nadal mentioned that his decision to play in the Mexican tournament was due to his desire to compete again after a long period of inactivity.

Rafa acknowledged that he has a difficult draw, and he spoke about his first rival in the tournament

Acapulco, February 20th, 2022. – One of the most favorite players for the Mexican public is ready to start his participation in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. The Spaniard Rafael Nadal (No. 6) said he was happy to return to a tournament that has seen him grow and that has accompanied him throughout his career.

Despite the options he has during the start of this season, the Spaniard mentioned that he likes to choose Acapulco to compete after the first Grand Slam of the year: “I know there are other events in the week, but I have always said that I like to be in Acapulco. This year I’m here and it makes me happy. Next year we’ll see,” the player said.

The publics affection has been one of the main reasons for Nadal to be in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, as Rafa said: ” I have always felt supported in Latin America. There’s no exception in Acapulco, I have always felt the affection of the people and I thank the Mexican public for the support they give me when I play here, or I am visiting”.

Despite the physical activity he lived at the Australian Open, his 21st Grand Slam was remarkable, the Spaniard made clear his reasons why he decided to attend the tournament once again: “I come for two very simple and easy reasons: one being that I have played very little in practically two years, and I feel like playing tennis, this is the simplest reason,” he said.

During the main draw ceremony, Nadal recognized that his possible path in the tournament is not simple at all: “It is a complicated draw. A very difficult first round, with a very good player (Reilly Opelka) that nobody would want to have as a rival in a first round of the tournament. I will try my best to advance in the best possible way,” said the Spaniard.
Rafael Nadal’s debut at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC will be on Tuesday, the second day in which the matches of the first round will be completed. The winner of 21 Grand Slams will seek a fourth victory in Acapulco, something that only Thomas Muster and David Ferrer have been able to achieve, top winners of the tournament.

• The German is the reigning champion of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.
• Zverev will play in Acapulco for the fifth time in his career

‘Sascha’ was born with a racket in his hand. Destiny, marked by a family legacy, led Alexander towards tennis from the moment he was part of this world. A couple of retired tennis players decided to continue with, what a couple of years ago, they had left.

The first to continue the legacy in the professional field was Mischa. The oldest of the new Zverev was a professional while a little Alexander traveled with him around the world and became familiar with his new hobby, however, everything was part of the destiny.

Alexander first listened to his parents’ stories as professionals and then watched his brother practice and play tournaments. He understood that his future was written and that it would be a matter of time before one more Zverev joined the family list of professionals.

The story began with Alexander’s father, then Irina joined, and then Mischa, who reached his peak when the young ‘Sascha’ began to play the big tournaments despite his young age. Then the family understood that the youngest of them would be in charge of representing them.

The reigning champion of Acapulco has always been accompanied by his family, especially by his father, or in any case, by Lovik and Junior, his two dogs. Beyond the spotlight, Alexander is still the same guy who once idolized Roger Federer and dreamed about being a professional.

When he is not playing tennis, sports continue to be present in the life of Zverev. Soccer, basketball, and golf are some of his hobbies beyond tennis, also video games. Among their hobbies, family and pets, they make up the human part of one of the most important players on the circuit.

The Zverev legacy is about to become a story that was born decades ago, and today, it has a player installed in the tennis elite. Although there is no assurance in the future, Alexander has been a reality for some time now.

• The Qualys begin in the XXIX edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
• There are two Mexican players looking for a ticket to the tournament’s main draw
• The South African, two-time finalist, Kevin Anderson, is back in Acapulco

Although the main activity of the XXIX edition begins on Monday February 21st with the official inauguration of the new Arena GNP Seguros, the matches begin behind closed doors this Saturday February 19th with the first 8 matches and the presence of two Mexicans: Gerardo Lopez, Davis Cup player and 16-year-old Rodrigo Pacheco, who had an outstanding participation in the junior category of the Australian Open back in January.

Another outstanding player is the South African Kevin Anderson, who was a finalist, twice, in Acapulco (2014 and 2018). Together, with the Germans Daniel Altmaier, Oscar Otte and Peter Gojowcyzk, they arrived as the favorites to advance in the first qualifying round, and win some of the tickets available to access the main draw of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

Rodrigo Pacheco, who also makes his debut in the qualifying phase of the ATP tour, will play against the American Denis Kudla, while Gerardo Lopez has a difficult challenge against the fourth seed of the qualy, Peter Gojowczyk.

Another outstanding player is the Italian, and veteran, Andreas Seppi who will play against the American J Wolf. The Colombian Nicolás Mejía, who received one of the three wild cards for the classification, will play against Kevin Anderson, who in 2021 was out of the main draw due to a hip injury.

Another outstanding player is the second seed for the qualy, the German Oscar Otte who will play against the Ecuadorian Emilio Gómez, son of the former tennis champion of the Roland Garros, Andrés Gómez. This Saturday will begin with the draw ceremony to find out which path the 32 players will face in this historic edition. The opening ceremony is scheduled for Monday morning, February 21st.

FIRST ROUND ENCOUNTERS:

(1) Daniel Altmaier (DEU) vs Ernesto Escobedo (USA)

(WC) Rodrigo Pacheco (MEX) vs (6) Denis Kudla (USA)

(2) Oscar Otte (DEU) vs Emilio Gómez (ECU)

Stefan Kozlov (USA) vs (5) Steve Johnson (USA)

(3) Kevin Anderson (ZAF) vs (WC) Nicolás Mejía (COL)

J.J Wolf (EUA) vs (8) Andreas Seppi (ITA)

(4) Peter Gojowczyk (DEU) vs (WC) Gerardo López Villaseñor (MEX) Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (DEU) vs (7) Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN)

• The XXIX edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC will have Mexican players in the main singles and doubles draws, as well as in the qualy.
• Feliciano López will attend the tournament for the sixth consecutive year, while Fernando Verdasco returns for the first time since 2018.
• The qualification tournament will be on Saturday, February 19th and Sunday February  20th; the main draw will be played starting Monday February  21st.

Mexico City, February 15th, 2022. – The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC shared the nine invitations that will be distributed between the main draw and the qualifying tournament that will be part of the XXIX edition of the tournament. The Spaniards Feliciano López and Fernando Verdasco, as well as the Mexican Alejandro Hernández will participate in the singles main draw.

Feliciano López’s double participation in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC will partner up with Stefanos Tsitsipas in the doubles tournament. The other couple is the  American John Isner and the Mexican Hans Hach Verdugo, who already know what it is to win in Mexico, because last season they managed to lift the trophy in Los Cabos.

Latin American youth will be playing the qualification round for the individual draw. Rodrigo Pacheco, who recently participated in the junior category of the Australian Open, will be the first player of his generation to participate in a qualifying round of an ATP World Tour tournament. Gerardo López Villaseñor and the Colombian Nicolás Mejía received the last invitations for this round.
The qualification round before the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC will be played behind closed doors, therefore the new headquarters, the Arena GNP Seguros, will open its doors starting Monday, February 21^st with the official start of the main draw.

A special film where the Russian Daniil Medvedev, number 2 of the world, stars in spectacular wins in Grand Slam tournaments against the three best players: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and in the end, he became the number one player in world, this could be directed by the famous filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.

Tarantino is the only film director to whom Medvedev would entrust a movie about his life and career, which in recent years has been a a tremendours improvement.

Being 25 years old, and becoming a pro since 18, the player, born in Moscow, has bursted with his good tennis in the ATP Rankins, becoming the first Top 2 who is not named Djokovic, Nadal, Federer or Murray since the Australian Lleyton Hewitt back in 2005. Medvedev reached that ranking on 15 March 2021.

His game and consistency has led him to his fourth final in a Grand Slam, in the last Australian Open 2022 which starred alongside the Spaniard Rafael Nadal, whom he took to the fifth set.

Togther with the Spaniard, the Russian will visit Acapulco in February to play the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, which will be played in the new headquarters, the Arena GNP Seguros, other players who will be there are the German Alexander Zverev (N.3), the Greek Stefanos Tsipas (N.4) and the Italian Mateo Berrettini (N.7).

It was in 2019 when he reached his first final, in the US Open, which he lost to Nadal. Then in 2020 he didnt reach any final, and in 2021 he got to two finals, both against Djokovic, the first he lost at the Australian Open and the second at the US Open where he prevented the Serbian from completing the Grand Slam, by winning the US Open 2021, and his first Grand Slam.

With an effective and spectacular tennis, Medvedev brought the spotlight back on Russian tennis, which had his last number one in Marat Safin, precisely the source of inspiration of Daniil when he saw him win the 2005 Australian Open.

With 13 titles in his career, the Russian will be the number one in the world in the near future, a possible end for his movie, but just the beginning in career and real life for Medvedev.

• Current No. 4 in the world will make its second appearance at the Abierto Mexicano de Tennis presentado por HSBC.
• His father, Apostolos, is his coach, but he was also the one who saved his life on one occasion

Mexico, January 2022. – It was in 2015 where Stefanos had a near death experience that marked him as a tennis player, and above all, as a human being. Known for his rapid rise in the ATP rankings and for making history as the first Greek to win a title on the tour, Tsitsipas has also earned the public’s sympathy for living a very relaxed life.

Apart from his motivational phrases on social media or the videos he shares about his travel experiences from his YouTube and podcast channel, the player is recognized as a family man, they usually travel with him throughout the tour. His father, Apostolos, is not only his coach, but he was also the one who saved him from drowning when Stefanos was swept away by the sea on the island of Crete.

Now, being 23 years old, Tsitsipas has acknowledged that after that episode he sees life from a different perspective and that it was something that changed him psychologically. After what he considered a second chance, his jump to become a professional player came just a year later, in 2016. A dream that he fulfilled with his father Apostolos, who decided to give up everything when Stefanos was 12 years old, in order to be able to travel and search of better opportunities that his native country could not provide for his development.

It was his parents who introduced him to the sport since he was three years old. Apostolos studied everything related to the white sport, he was a chair umpire and coach, while his mother, born in Moscow, Julia Apostoli, was a professional tennis player. He began his tennis lessons at a summer resort where they both worked at. Time went through and he moved to Niza so he could train at the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy, trainer of Serena Williams. Later, he became number 1 in the world as a junior player.

There is no doubt that with all his father’s sacrifice, Stefanos successfully reward his father’s hard work. After winning the NextGen ATP Finals in 2018, Apostolos confessed that he was still learning every day and expected to be a good enough coach for his son’s future demands and dreams. He has been present at every step of its evolution and is a key piece to make today the current No. 4 in the world. The Greek will make his second appearance at the Abierto Mexicano de Tennis presentado por HSBC.

• The XXIX edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC will be at the new venue, the Arena GNP Seguros, and will feature five Top 10 and seven other players from the Top 30

• In addition to the recent announcement of Rafael Nadal coming to the tournament, other top 50 players are also confirmed such as Cameron Norrie (12), Pablo Carreño Busta (21), Taylor Fritz (22), John Isner (25), Grigor Dimitrov (28) and Carlos Alcaraz (31).

• The ATP 500 in Acapulco will be from February 21^st – 26^th with public access and will follow all security protocols, according to the local authorities.

Mexico City, January 25^th, 2022. – The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC announces the list of players that will participate in the XXIX edition of the Tournament, which will take place from February 21^st – 26^th at the new venue, the Arena GNP Seguros, along with five Top 10 players, Daniil Medvedev (No. 2), Alexander Zverev (No. 3), Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 4), Rafael Nadal (No. 5) and Matteo Berrettini (No. 7).

In an incredible list of players that closed with the number 68 of the world, this year we will enjoy a great combination of young talent and experience, among them, three former champions of the tournament: Zverev, who will try to defend his title in the new venue; Nadal, three-time champion; and Grigor Dimitrov (No. 28), the charismatic Bulgarian, winner of 8 ATP titles, and loved by the Mexican fans.

Another known player for the Mexican public would be the 26-year-old British Cameron Norrie (No. 12), who made a big jump in his ranking after winning his first two titles in the ATP Tour in 2021; he won the Masters 1000 of Indian Wells and the ATP 250 of Los Cabos. On the other hand, one of the new sensations of the circuit is the 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz (No. 31). The Spaniard will make his second appearance in Acapulco, after winning his first Tour title in 2021 and winning the NextGen ATP Finals. His countryman, Pablo Carreño Busta (No. 21), 30-years-old and has six ATP titles, will also be present, along with another Spaniard, Pablo Ándujar (No. 57 PR). Other players who have great talent will come to the tournament, such as the Italian Lorenzo Sonego (No. 26), the Serbs Dusan Lajovic (No. 39) and Laslo Djere (No. 51) and the Frenchman Benoit Paire (No. 56).

In this ATP 500, the United States will be represented by Taylor Fritz (No. 22), John Isner (No. 25), Reilly Opelka (No. 29), Frances Tiafoe (No. 34), Tommy Paul (No. 41), Sebastian Korda (No. 43), Jenson Brooksby (No. 58), Marcos Giron (No. 66) and Brandon Nakashima (No. 68). The United States has not had a No.1 since Andy Roddick, but they are the nation with the largest number of players in the Top 100 of the ATP.

 The matches between countrymen will be welcome, and people will be able to appreciate Isner’s serves, the endurance and solid strokes by Fritz, and Korda’s speed, son of former Czech tennis player, Petr Korda.

Mextenis has worked with local authorities to ensure that the public has access to this special edition: the inauguration of the new venue. Once again, the tournament, through its security program, AMT Safety, will be responsible for the planning and operation of security measures and protocols to guarantee and safeguard the health of the staff, players, and guests within the tournament. Attendees must bring a negative antigen test to attend the event. Once the negative result is presented, you will receive an access bracelet called Safety Pass which will be unique for each person and non-transferable for any day of the event.

The social platforms, as well as the website, www.abiertomexicanodetenis.com, will publish all results, scores, content, and information of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, guaranteeing extensive and a complete coverage for fans. They will also be able to monitor television coverage through ESPN.

For more information, please visit our website: abiertomexicanodetenis.com

• Matteo Berrettini will make his appearance in Acapulco for the XXIX edition of Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
• He considers himself a very good football and basketball player
• He is a big fan of the NBA and Lebron James. He adores dogs and he loves movies

Mexico, January 2022. – The passion for soccer of the current number 7 of the world started with his grandfather Piero Berrettini, and with the first Scudetto for Fiorentina in 1956. He was born and raised in Rome, however, it is surprising that the 25-year-old player, winner of five titles on the tour, is not fond of Rome or Lazio; this is because of his grandfather: a native of Fiesole who did not hesitate to take his son and his grandson to his beloved Fiore’s games.

Matteo loved watching the games from the stands, however, his parents Luca and Claudia, both tennis club players, encouraged him to play, and he began to take his first steps at the age of four at the club Corte dei Conti in Rome. This venue became his second home, and this was the key for his development as an athlete. In there, little Mat (as his acquaintances fondly call him) learned to swim, play soccer and basketball, even practiced judo, so it was normal for him to take a racket and start playing. Today, his grandparents are still members of the club and Matteo says he has many friends there.

At the age of eight, Matteo began training with his younger brother Jacopo, who is also a professional tennis player. Although Matteo was beginning to show greater interest in other sports, the younger Berrettini asked him to continue playing tennis. That motivated him to look for a career in the sport which now has him in the Top 10 of the world. Also, as a good Italian, another one of his passions is good food. A perfect hot-day meal for him would be to eat seafood all day in Sardinia.One of the things that he admires most about his country is that the food is different in each region, which makes them unique. It also has beautiful coastlines combined with mountains. On an emotional level, Matteo enjoys that Italians are so passionate about what they do, something that can be seen in sports. If putting his heart to his work is what has led Berrettini to win the public’s sympathy, then he already has something in common with the Mexican fans. The Italian, number 7 of the world, will be present at the inauguration of the Arena GNP Seguros in the XXIX edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.