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Year: 2023

Ruud withstands pressure from Andreozzi and advances

Written by Abierto Mexicano de Tenis on . Posted in News.

  • The Norwegian was close to falling against the 342nd player of the world in the last round of the Arena GNP Seguros and needed almost three hours to get the victory.

Acapulco, February 27th – The first day closed with a major surprise. The Argentine Guido Andreozzi was one step away from achieving what would have been his biggest victory yet  but in the end it was the Norwegian Casper Ruud who advanced to the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC.

The Norwegian started off a break down in the match but it didn’t take him long to recover lost ground. He managed to recover against a surprising Andreozzi, taking a 6-4 lead.

It looked like a straightforward victory for the Roland Garros and US Open finalist, but the Argentinean broke Rudds´s serve in the second set. Ruud managed to recover again, but Guido got a new break to close the second set with his serve 6-4 and send the match to the third set.

During the last set we saw one break on each side until both players reached a 6-6 tie and had to decide the match in a tiebreak. During the tiebreak, Ruud used up all of his experience and Andreozzi unfortunately could not show his best game. With a 7-2 score, Casper got his ticket to the next round, where he will face Japan’s Taro Daniel.

Rune advances after a huge comeback

Written by Abierto Mexicano de Tenis on . Posted in News.

  • Fourth-seeded Dane survived Shelton’s 9 aces to take the victory.

Acapulco, February 27th – Denmark’s Holger Rune confirmed his Top 10 status and maturity with a comeback win over American (US) Ben Shelton. Current world number 10 in the ATP ranking had a hard-earned victory as he needed three sets to overcome the inspired American who stood up to him at the GNP Seguros Arena.

Rune and Shelton delighted the fans who were present to witness what could be one of the most important duels in the future. The 19 and 20 year olds, respectively, competed for more than 2 hours in an exciting match.

The first set could have gone either way. Rune and Shelton reached the tiebreak after each got a  break and both had set point in the tiebreak. At the end it was Ben who took advantage of his opponent’s errors taking a 7-6 lead.

The match was split until a 4-4 in the second set. After taking a 5-4 lead with his serve, Rune took advantage of Shelton’s errors to press with his return and eventually got the break and set at the same time.

For the last set, the Dane was largely superior to Shelton, who continued to go from bad to worse. At the end, Rune clinched the win with a final score of 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-2.

“I wasn’t as sharp as I would´ve liked, specially during key moments of the first set. I embraced it and got through; I started strong with my serve in the second set, I played much more freely, a bit more aggressive, I felt at ease,” Rune recalled after the match.

“After that, we played two amazing last points in the second set. I feel like I had a little bit of the advantage and I used to my advantage. My discipline was key in the third set,” the Dane added.

Rune will play in the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC against the winner of the match between Portugal’s Nuno Borges and American Nick Chappell.

RANKING COUNTRIES

UNITED STATES 14

ARGENTINA 7

AUSTRALIA 7

SPAIN 9

ITALY 6

SERBIA 5

FRANCE 9

GREAT BRITAIN 4

GERMANY 3

CROATIA 2

CANADA 2

The Grand Stand vibrates on its 2023 debut

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  • Shapovalov, Tiafoe and Paul fulfilled all predictions and made the Grandstand “Caliente” vibrate at the beginning of the tournament.

Acapulco, February 27th.- There is no doubt that every court inside the GNP Seguros Arena lives matches of high intensity during the tournaments week and the opening of the Grandstand had nothing to envy the main stadium with three matches that vibrated with the 1,500 spectators that jam packed each match in the opening day of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC in its XXX anniversary.

First, Dennis Shapovalov (No. 30) and Miomir Kecmanovic (No. 31) fulfilled all predictions with a close match that went to a tie break in the first set and resulted in favor of the Serbian. 

Every victory and effort counts, specially when both are competing for the same positions in the ATP ranking, however, it was the Canadian who evened the score in the second set when in just 26 minutes he finished his first opponent with an outstanding serve. After 2 hours and 15 minutes into the game, Shapovalov, finally managed to increase his advantage against Kecmanovic 2-1 thanks to eight aces and despite committing more double faults (7). The final score was 6-7(4), 6-0, 7-5. He´ll face Taylor Fritz (No. 5) in the second round.

Then came the turn of the American (US) Frances Tiafoe (No.15) against Yoshihito Nishioka, both started their debut in Acapulco with high intensity as they went to a tie break in the first set. Finally, after one hour & 44 minutes, last year’s US Open semifinalist looked very solid on his first serve and broke the Japanese twice during the match. With a score of 7-6(6)-6-4 he advanced to the quarterfinals where he´ll face Feliciano López, who defeated Christopher Eubanks.

Finally Tommy Paul (No.23) faced Emilio Gómez for the final match of the day and although he took the first set in just 29 minutes, for the second set the Ecuadorian9 offered a better battle until a tie break that the American (semifinalist in the last Australian Open), managed to control for a 6-1, (4)6-7 final score in less than two hours. The 25-year-old player will face his compatriot Michael Mmoh this  Wednesday.

Fritz debuts his Top 5 with a victory

Written by Gabriel Herrea Morones on . Posted in News.

  • The American (US) got the upper hand in a serving duel against his compatriot John Isner.
  • Taylor debuted as World No. 5 with a victory

Acapulco, February 27th – It´s never easy to face a compatriot; what better proof of that, was the duel between Taylor Fritz and John Isner in the first round of this open; the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC.

Things started off a bit complicated for the newest No. 5 in the world. Being the first to lose his serve and John Isner taking advantage of that to win the first set 6-3.

As if that wasn’t enough, Fritz had to ask for physio assistance after the first set due to a left leg discomfort. Taylor was clearly looking for solutions thru stretching but still looked uncomfortable on the court.

Both the physio’s assistance and the break after the first set seemed to help Fritz. Improving significantly with his service, and gradually presented more threats in the return, until he got a big break that allowed him to even the scores with another 6-3.

Isner tried to hold on to the possibility of advancing to the next round, but at the most critical moment of the match, he gave up his serve. Taylor became more aggressive on the return and took advantage of Isner´s errors, putting himself in a position to serve for the match.

After saving a break point, Taylor Fritz took the victory with a final score of 3-6, 6-3 and 6-4 to get into the next round of the Open.

More good news for him, since he´ll have a day off before playing for the quarterfinals against Denis Shapovalov.

“It’s exciting to be inside the top 5. Now it’s time to focus more on the tournament and not so much on the ranking. It was great to get through the match and get the win,” said Fritz after his win this afternoon.

AMT 2023 goes to the beach with De Minaur and Altmaier

Written by Abierto Mexicano de Tenis on . Posted in News.

  • Alex de Minaur (No. 22) and Daniel Altmaier (No. 95) met on the beach to play in the middle of paradise.

Acapulco, February 27th – There are no shortage of activities to take advantage of the scenery in regards to the port of Acapulco during the week of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC. This Monday, when the main draw of the XXX edition of the ATP 500 tournament formally began, two players decided to challenge each other in a hot match in front of the sea, on the beach of Punta Sirena at the Hotel-Resort, “Fermont Pierre Marqués”.

Alex de Minaur, current No. 22 in the world, and German Daniel Altmaier, No. 95, began their week of competition in our country on a mini tennis court set up on the sand. The brief exhibition  was attended by the Mayor of Acapulco, Abelina López and the tournament director and CEO of Mextenis, Álvaro Falla. Along with a team representing the commission of the city’s tourism office.

After the match in which both tennis players laughed at their funny skills on mini tennis, they were able to chat for a few minutes in perfect Spanish since both players speak the language. “We enjoy getting along with all the players, very different from other weeks. For me it’s like being at home, I love the energy, the people, the special treatment, I’m going to spend a lot of time here,” said the German Altmaier. 

While the Australian, de Minaur, who was the opponent of Mexican junior Rodrigo Pacheco, talked about his first challenge “I hope it´ll be a great match, I have seen that he´s playing very well indeed, so it´ll be a tough match, already looking forward to playing, I hope the crowd goes against him, but it will be a very nice atmosphere. I’m very happy to be here in Acapulco.”

Pacheco’s first round match against De Minaur is scheduled for this Tuesday.

All set for the start of AMT 2023

Written by Gabriel Herrea Morones on . Posted in News.

  • Taylor Fritz and John Isner will open the day at the GNP Seguros Arena.
  • Holger Rune and Casper Ruud will also take the stage on the first day of action.

Acapulco, February 26th – The first day of the XXX edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC has already taken shape. The game order has determined that three of the top four seeds will open the day tomorrow.

In a duel of Americans (US), Taylor Fritz and John Isner will start the actions at the Arena GNP Seguros. The more experienced of the two will once again open the activities of the first day, as he did last year when he defeated Fernando Verdasco in a match which, up to that moment, had become the longest in the history of the tournament.

For the second round, two future stars will face each other. Denmark’s Holger Rune will face against American (US) Ben Shelton for a place in the second round. On the other hand, in the third and last match of the day at the Arena GNP Seguros, Casper Ruud will face a player coming from the qualifiers.

The side courts will also have high level matches. Canadian Denis Shapovalov will face Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round of the Grandstand. After the Canadian and Serbian meet, Frances Tiafoe and Yoshihito Nishioka will define another qualifier to the second round.

On Court 1, the first match will be between Americans (US) Marcos Girón and Michael Mmoh. Christopher Eubanks and Feliciano López will also face each other and J.J. Wolf will do the same against another winner from the qualifying round.

The qualifiers end

The qualy concluded with some interesting comebacks that defined the last members for the main draw. Taro Daniel, Guido Andreozzi, Jacopo Berrettini and Nick Chappell were the winners of the qualifiers.

The Japanese had to come from behind to beat Brandon Holt, who had previously eliminated Mexican Ernesto Escobedo. Daniel, who on his way to the main draw defeated Alejandro Hernández, got his ticket to the main draw after a comeback, sealed with a victory of 4-6, 6-4 and 6-0 score in almost two hours of playing time.

On the other hand, the Argentine Guido Andreozzi showed great performance against Elias Ymer. The first set seemed to lean on the Swede’s side, who was 4-2 and serving, but ended up losing the set in a tiebreaker. After more than two hours , the victory went to the player from Buenos Aires 7-6, 6-3.

In the second round of the Grandstand, Jacopo joined his brother Matteo in the main draw after defeating his compatriot Luciano Darderi. Berrettini came from behind to take both sets and sealed his win with a 6-2, 6-4 score.

Finally, the American (US) Nick Chappell did not have many complications with New Zealander Jose Rubin Statham. The American reached the main draw in just one hour and 17 minutes with a score of 6-4 and 6-0.

Kids day lights up AMT 2023

Written by Gabriel Herrea Morones on . Posted in News.

  • Many kids fulfilled their dream of playing alongside a few professional tennis players in the AMT 2023

Acapulco, February 26th – The traditional Kids Day, (the activity that promotes the integration of children with the sport), took off this Sunday at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC 2023, celebrating its 30th anniversary.

The Kids Day, is an opportunity for many children attending the tournament to get closer to their favorite stars playing in Acapulco, the players give them advice, gifts, play along and share their training sessions.
During the activities that marked the first day at the GNP Seguros Arena complex, a dozen tennis players made their dreams come true to some 70 children who teamed up with different players.

The day began with huge beach balls that were the joy of a grandstand that was occupied by a good number of children, demonstrating that every year Kids Day gets better and better.
For Mextenis, the company that organizes the tournament, it´s important to include the community in its activities in order to give back to Acapulco with social responsibility actions.
During the first activity, Denmark’s Holger Rune and Americans (US) John Isner and Ben Shelton played mini-tennis with a dozen kids.

Later, Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic and Americans Frances Tiafoe and Brandon Nakashima, with a boy or girl as a partner, sharpened their aim to hit huge racquets placed on the other side of the court. The activity was joined by Colombian Robert Farah and Mexican Hans Hatch Verdugo.

The Norwegian Casper Ruud participated in another activity, and after his appearance, he completed an hour of training that was watched by young and old alike.

In the stands, everything was fun as the parents of the kids cheered for their young ones, who competed alongside the players with excitement and much enthusiasm.

With an agenda of activities planned for kids and their parents, (Kids Day and Family Day), the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC seeks to integrate the community in the sport as a means of an initiation program, in this case with a first approach to the sport for all the young ones.

The voices of the protagonists of AMT 2023

Written by Abierto Mexicano de Tenis on . Posted in News.

  • Some of the most outstanding players of the XXX edition of the AMT revealed their thoughts & feelings about the start of the tournament.

Acapulco, February 26th  – Hours away from the start of the main draw at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC, some of the tournament’s top seeds revealed their thoughts & feelings for this season, as well as their excitement for being part of the 30th anniversary celebration of the ATP 500 in Acapulco.

Italian, Matteo Berrettini, who is on his second participation in the AMT confessed: “I’m looking forward to playing, to start the tournament. Last year I didn’t finish the tournament as I wanted so I’m very happy to be here another year, and I´m also playing doubles with my brother so it’s a special tournament for me.”

“I hope it can be a season without injuries and with many tournaments and success. Last year at the end, I played well but I didn’t play enough, that was a bit of a problem, and when you make a lot of standby´s and re-start during a season or career, it’s a bit difficult to regain momentum, specially with a very long season. This year I hope it´ll be much healthier. At the end, tennis is a sport that´s not easy, but we expect big results” added the current No. 24 in the ranking.

On the other hand, the American (US) semifinalist of the 2022 US Open, Frances Tiafoe, reveals that he feels more confident than ever to have a great participation in Mexico. “I think I’m coming to Acapulco with my best level yet. I’m super excited to play, to be here and try to make the long run.” regarding this season he adds “It’s going to be a good one, things are going to be remembered for, It’s started off great so far, but now I’m ready for bigger stages”. “Congrats, for this 30-year anniversary! I’m a huge fan of this event and you guys are great, go for another 30 year run!” he concluded for the tournament. 

His compatriot Taylor Fritz also assured to feel great and confident. He shared his goals for this year: “This season my goals are to be in the Top 5, and also reach a Grand Slam final. I think I follow the ranking a lot, cause every time you go up, it always feels good, hopefully I have good results this year,” said the current World No. 7.

“I want to congratulate the tournament for these first 30 years, one of my favorite spots to come to and hope I can come back for many years” he promised, while deciding to share a small piece of his secret that is to work beyond the physical aspect of the game “For me, mental health depends on having time to enjoy off the court. At times, I just need to lay in bed, relax, play video games, it’s a big part of just having that time off after practice and work.”

Another of the outstanding tennis players present in Acapulco is the Norwegian, winner of nine ATP titles, Casper Ruud, who had to arrive a few days earlier to adapt to the overall conditions “I feel great, we arrived on Friday and I had a couple of good practices. The stadium looks great, it’s my first time with the new venue. I was here in 2021 and had a great time. Unfortunately I had a wrist injury,  making me pull out of the game in the quarterfinals, so hopefully my wrist will be okay this week. The weather is always great, it’s kind of hot and that’s why we play at night. We have the ocean nearby, great food and fans. It’s 30 years!, it allows you to appreciate that the tournament is a huge success and hopefully it continues for another 30+ years.”

Regarding this season he added “Maybe I didn’t have the best start in Australia, but it’s going to be a long year, there are still a lot of tournaments to come. I’m coming out of a mini-season with a lot of physical work done and hopefully it will help me play well. I hope it´ll be a great year for me, I have a lot of things to defend, and will try to give my best every week.”

Finally, the 19-year-old Danish youngster, Holger Rune, is visiting the tournament for the very first time and says he´s surprised by the stadium: “I walked around here, the beach,  been to different courts and it’s very nice, great conditions, I like it, it’s very warm and comfortable to play at night. I’m excited to start”. Regarding his goals as a new Top 10 ranking he confessed “My big dream is to win a Grand Slam, but between being No. 1 and winning a Grand Slam, I prefer the latter…Happy tournament Acapulco!, I wish you all the best in the future” he concluded.

Farewell to the Mexicans on the first day of Qualys

Written by Abierto Mexicano de Tenis on . Posted in News.

Acapulco, February 25th 2023 – It was a complicated day for the Mexicans in the qualifying round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC. Ernesto Escobedo and Alejandro Hernández keeped their hopes alive trying to reach the main draw, but were eliminated by American (US) Brandon Holt and Japanese Taro Daniel, respectively.

Ernesto “Neto” was the closest to qualifying, after a close match that lasted almost three hours. Holt took the first set after breaking the Mexicans serve twice. Although Escobedo recovered one of the breaks, but could not prevent Brandon from taking a 6-4 lead.

Ernesto showed his best game during the second set. The crowd was able to connect with the Mexican and encourage him out of a 0-40 point in the mid part of the set. During the tiebreak, a brief break was enough for Escobedo to equal the actions. But for the final set, Holt got a couple of breaks giving him the victory after a final score of 6-4, 7-6, 6-2.

Earlier in the Grandstand, Alejandro Hernández could do very little against Taro Daniel. The Japanese was always in control and won the match in less than 90 minutes. The duel started with a break on each side, but then it was completely on the Japanese’s favor.

Alex managed to save three match points when leading 1-5 in the second set, but a double fault sentenced his elimination from the qualifying round as in the previous edition of the tournament. Daniel advanced to the next round of pre-qualifying, where he will face Brandon Holt for a spot in the main draw.

In other matches, Jacopo Berrettini will look forward on joining his brother Matteo in the main draw if he gets a win against Luciano Darderi in an Italian duel. On the other hand, Elias Ymer will be looking for another of the spots against Argentine Guido Andreozzi, who is also still active in the doubles qualies.

QUALY RESULTS: 

Luciano Darderi (ITA) defeated Yuichi Sugita (JPN) by 7-5, 6-0.

Taro Daniel (JPN) defeated Alejandro Hernández (MEX) 6-2, 6-1

Elias Ymer (SWE) defeated Bradley Klahn (USA) 6-4, 6-4

Guido Andreozzi (ARG) defeated Facundo Mena 7-5, 6-2

Brandon Holt (USA) defeated Ernesto Escobedo (MEX) 6-4 6-7(5), 6-2

Jacopo Berrettini (ITA) defeated Geoffrey Blancaneaux (FRA) by 0-6, 6-4, 6-4

Main Draw of the XXX edition of the TELCEL Mexican Open presented by HSBC 2023 is held

Written by Abierto Mexicano de Tenis on . Posted in News.

  • Carlos Alcaráz and Casper Ruud, top seeds, will face American (US) Mackenzie McDonald and a qualifier.
  • Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune will face Americans (US) John Isner and Ben Shelton.
  • Mexican Rodrigo Pacheco will play against Australian Alex de Miñaur.

Acapulco, February 25th, 2023.- In a ceremony held by Alvaro Falla, director of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC, the main draw of the XXX edition of the ATP 500 in Acapulco took place.

Top seeds Carlos Alcaráz, Casper Ruud, Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune have already defined their opponents, whom they´ll face in the first round.

Spain’s Alcaráz (No. 2 ATP and first qualifier of the tournament) will start against American (US) Mackenzie McDonald.

Norwegian Casper Ruud (No. 4 and second seed) will play his first match against a player from the rankings. 

Meanwhile, Fritz (No. 8) will play against his compatriot John Isner and Holger Rune (No. 9) will face American (US) Ben Shelton, who entered the main draw by wildcard.

British 2022 finalist Cameron Norrie (No. 11) will face Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, American (US) Frances Tiafoe (No. 15) will face Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (No. 33) and Italian Matteo Berrettini (No. 22) will open his participation in Acapulco against Slovakian Alex Molcan.

Other promising duels will be the ones played by Canadian Denis Shapovalov (No. 27) against Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic and Ecuadorian Emilio Gómez against American (US) Tommy Paul.

Mexican junior Rodrigo Pacheco, 17, was drawn at the top and will face Australian Alex de Minaur (No. 25) in the first round,

Pacheco will try to become the first Mexican to reach the second round of the tournament since Santiago González in 2011.

During the draw ceremony, Álvaro Falla, director of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC, highlighted that the draw promises good duels for “the top seeds that could perhaps allow them to advance, this in favor of the tournament.”

“It’s a very good approach to what the tournament will be like,” added Falla.

Americans (US) Marcos Giron, J.J. Wolf and Brandon Nakashima will have first round opponents, respectively, Michale Mmoh, a qualifier and German Daniel Altamier.

A special clash in the draw will be the one between Spaniard Feliciano López and American (US) Christopher Eubanks. López confessed that he´s about to retire and that it´s his last participation as a player in Mexico.

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