- Grigor Dimitrov broke the Spanish hegemony in the AMT in 2014 by becoming the first champion on hard surface in Acapulco.
Mexico City, January 23rd, 2023.- After eight titles for the Spaniards in a 10 year spam period and six of them being consecutive, this 22-year-old arrived to put a stop to the sweeping winning streak of David Ferrer, Rafael Nadal and Nicolás Almagro, to proudly wave the colors of the Bulgarian flag in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC, celebrating one of its biggest changes, switching from clay to hard court, under the slogan ‘A new court for a new era’.
Grigor Dimitrov, then world No. 22, could not have dreamed of a better debut in Acapulco. Reaching the final, where he faced South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, surprising everyone leaving the current Olympic champion and Grand Slam winner Andy Murray on the way, but perhaps it was the atmosphere that was his best ally.
“My first memory of Acapulco is from the first time I played there and I had an amazing time with the people and everyone who made the tournament. It was very special in the sense that I was playing every match at 10 o’clock at night and the fans were attending and were present on every point played. Without a doubt my memories take me to the atmosphere and I will never forget that I had one of my craziest points, craziest parties, basically crazy everything over there, it’s very different and I really appreciate that as a player. What a beautiful place! Stated for the tournament.
That final against Anderson had all the ingredients to be remembered as a historic one, as the drama was not lacking in a 7-6(1), 3-6, 7-6(5) score for almost 3 hours (two hours and 58 minutes) of play. It was the second title in Dimitrov’s career, but his first ATP 500. He now totals eight in total, among which he boasts having conquered the ATP Finals in 2017, the same year in which he reached his highest ranking as No. 3 in the world.
At almost the same age as the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC, Dimitrov reflects on the special anniversary and reveals the details that make the tournament so special “It means a lot. These days when we see how everything is done, it’s quite challenging, but reaching 30 years is reaching an incredible goal, with such good emotions all around. It gives me pleasure to know that the tournament has improved and for a good reason it always has amazing players.”
“What I like most about the destination is that it was very accessible for us and at the same time it was great to be close to the water. Also that the matches began much later in the day really helped a lot, you enjoy everything in general, it’s beautiful and that makes it easy for the players to enjoy and incorporate everything they have for their game.”
Finally, Grigor Dimitrov can’t forget the fans, the most special ingredient he´s had in each of his visits to Mexico “They have been tremendous over the years, it´s been a privilege and an honor to be there and support them in giving everything every time. I’m very pleased that I know I can count on them, throughout the night they are so active and show so much, it’s amazing!” concluded the now 31-year-old world No. 28.
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