• Álvaro Falla, tournament director, gives an emotional welcome to the start of the 2024 edition.
• Highlighted the great response from players, fans, Acapulco residents and authorities

Acapulco, February 26, 2024.- Álvaro Falla, director of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC, welcomed the XXXI edition of the tournament, which will be played from Monday, February 26 through Saturday, March 2 at the GNP Seguros Arena tennis complex in Acapulco.

In a press conference prior to the start of the tournament, the executive was pleased with the arrival of the zero hour, because it will show that the tournament is more alive than ever after the tourist destination suffered the devastating impact of Hurricane Otis at the end of October 2023.

“The long-awaited zero hour has arrived, for which we have worked so long and made so much effort. Today what we are giving for Acapulco becomes a reality. This is our contribution and our grain of sand,” said the executive in relation to the reconstruction in which Mextenis has taken a leading role.

Falla expressed his gratitude to the people of Acapulco and authorities at different levels of government, but also to the players, since all those who had committed to play in the tournament have complied with their attendance, except for two who could not come for other reasons such as injuries. But, undoubtedly, the solidarity and commitment of the tennis players is worthy of recognition, said Falla.

At the ticket offices, he pointed out, the enthusiasm of the fans to attend the matches has been evident, lining up to buy tickets for Monday’s opening day, although he acknowledged that attendance may decrease due to the damage suffered by the port’s lodging infrastructure. 

Even so, he said, the goal is to reach 70% of the capacity in general terms. The GNP Seguros Arena has capacity for 10,000 fans and the Grandstand, the second in capacity, for 3,000.

Pleased with the response of the public, not only those who usually travel to Acapulco to watch the tournament but also the local fans who have shown their interest in attending the games, Falla emphasized that the facilities of the tennis complex are completely ready, even in better conditions than before the impact of the meteor.

He explained that the main stadium did not suffer structural damage; it was only necessary to work on the refurbishment of decorative walls, renovate warehouses, improve offices and redesign the food and beverage area, which year after year usually has a large number of fans.

The tournament has assumed an outstanding participation in the reconstruction of Acapulco, not only by making contributions from the box office takings, but also by promoting the tournament on which more than 11,000 families depend during its development, including hotel workers, local commerce and tournament workers, as well as participating in the reconstruction of housing through the Asociación Construyendo, in collaboration with Mextenis.

In sports matters, Alvaro Falla confirmed the 125th Challenger in Acapulco in April, which will be part of a tour of tournaments of its kind that includes events in San Luis Potosi, Mexico City, Cuernavaca and finally Acapulco.

“The Acapulco Challenger is a fact, it’s on the calendar. We are going to organize it. You can count on it to be an event of great category,” said the director, who recalled that Mextenis organized the Challenger of Leon last year and among more than 100 tournaments of its kind, it was recognized as the number one.

• Everything is ready for the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC to begin this Monday; Flavio Cobolli, Térence Atmane, Aleksandar Kovacevic and Michael Mmoh advanced to the main draw in Acapulco.
• Mexico’s Hans Hach Verdugo and Venezuela’s Luis David Martinez lost to the British duo of Daniel Evans and Henry Patten. 

Acapulco, February 25, 2024 – The main draw of the Abierto Mexicanos de Tenis presented by HSBC was completed with the main draw tickets for Italian Flavio Cobolli (No. 69), Frenchman Térence Atmane (No. 145) and Americans Aleksandar Kovacevic (No. 100) and Michael Mmoh (No.122). 

Italian Flavio Cobolli (No. 69) outlasted Frenchman Constant Lestienne (No. 104) 7-5, 3-6, 6-0 in a match that lasted two hours and six minutes, while American Aleksandar Kovacevic (No. 100) forced a third set to beat Australian Rinky Hijikata (No. 79) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 in a tie break.

Frenchman Térence Atmane (No. 145) overcame American Zachary Svajda (No. 139) by 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 using the power of his serve to score eight aces. 

Meanwhile, American Michael Mmoh (No. 122) defeated Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (No. 84) 6-2, 1-6, 6-0 to reach the first round of the tournament in Acapulco. 

In the doubles match, the British duo of Daniel Evans and Henry Patten advanced to the main draw of the Abierto Mexicanos de Tenis presented by HSBC by defeating Mexico’s Hans Hach Verdugo and Venezuela’s Luis David Martinez 6-4, 7-6, 10-8, in the match that closed the day on Sunday. 

• On Monday, 10 matches will be played, 8 singles and two doubles, with Mexicans 
• Ernesto Escobedo and Santiago Gonzalez in search of the second round.

Acapulco, February 25, 2024.- The main draw activity of the XXXI edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC, to be played this week in Acapulco, starts this Monday with eight matches in singles and two in doubles.

The first to enter the competition are three of the top eight seeds, Australian Alex De Miñaur (3) and Americans Taylor Fritz (4) and Tommy Paul (7).

Also in the day’s action will be American sensation Ben Shelton (No. 16), Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, Argentine Diego Schwartzman and Mexican Ernesto Escobedo, the latter two having reached the main draw via wildcard.

De Miñaur, defending champion, opens against Japan’s Taro Daniel; Fritz against Italian junior Matteo Arnaldi and Paul, 2023 finalist, against Briton Jack Draper, while Shelton faces another Briton, Daniel Evans, and Auger-Aliassime against a player from the qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Schwartzman will play against Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic and Mexican Escobedo against Austrian Sebastian Ofner. The day will be completed by the Portuguese Nuno Borges against a player from the qualifiers.

In doubles, Mexican Santiago Gonzalez and British Neal Skupski, top favorites, will face Norwegian Casper Ruud and American William Blumberg and in another match, Australian John Peers and Finnish Harri Heliovaara will face Australian Rinky Hijikata and British Joe Salisbury. 

The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC in its XXXI edition, to be played from February 26 to March 2 in Acapulco, will feature nine players ranked in the Top 20 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and four of them are in the Top 10.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev (No.6), Denmark’s Holger Rune (No.7), Australia’s Alex de Miñaur (No.9), reigning champion of the tournament, and American Taylor Fritz (No.10) head the list of players.

They are joined by Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (No.11), Norwegian Casper Ruud (No.12) and Americans Tommy Paul (No.14) -finalist in 2023, Frances Tiafoe (No.15), and Ben Shelton (No.16), as well as Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime (No.29).

The champions in recent years of the tournament are Juan Martin del Potro (2018), Nick Kyrgios (2019), Rafael Nadal (2020 and 2022), Alexander Zverev (2021) and Alex de Miñaur (2023).

• Mexico’s Hans Hach Verdugo and Venezuela’s Luis David Martinez beat Sweden’s Andre Goransson and France’s Constant Lestienne 6-2, 6-3 to earn their ticket to the main draw of the doubles tournament. 
• This Sunday will define the four tickets to the main draw of Acapulco.

Acapulco, February 24, 2024.- Mexican tennis player Alan Rubio Fierros (No. 756) was eliminated in the first day of the qualy round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC after losing 6-2, 6-1 to Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (No.84). 

The XXXI edition of the tournament that takes place in Acapulco began with interesting matches, where the Italian Flavio Cobolli (No. 69) defeated 6-3, 0-6, 7-5 the American Brandon Holt (No. 295) demonstrating a powerful serve to get five “ace” services and this Sunday will face for a ticket to the main draw against the French Constant Lestienne (No. 104), who defeated 6-4, 6-4 the British Liam Broady (No. 123).

Frenchman Terence Atmane (No. 145) beat Australian Aleksandar Vukic (No. 72) 6-4, 6-3, while American Zachary Svajda (No. 139) advanced against Australian James Duckworth (No. 98) 6-3, 1-1 and Duckworth retired. Now, Atmane and Svajda will be looking for a ticket to the first round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC.

Another player who retired after 22 minutes of play in this qualifying phase was Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis (No. 103) after being down 4-1 in the first set against American Michael Mmoh (No. 122), who advanced. 

Colombian Nicolas Mejia (No. 400) was unfortunately also eliminated against Aleksandar Kovacevic (No. 100) and the American will try to qualify for the tournament against Australian Rinky Hijikata (No. 79), who won 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in an intense duel with Japanese Shintaro Mochizuki (No. 138).

In doubles, Mexicans Manuel Sánchez Montemayor and Emiliano Aguilera lost 6-3, 6-1 to British Daniel Evans and Henry Patten, but Mexico’s Hans Hach Verdugo, teaming up with Venezuelan Luis David Martínez, defeated Sweden’s Andre Goransson and France’s Constant Lestienne 6-2, 6-3. 

• Alexander Zverev, the tournament’s top seed, will debut against his compatriot Daniel Altmaier, while defending champion Alex de Miñaur will begin his journey against Japan’s Taro Daniel. 
• As for the Mexicans, Rodrigo Pacheco will try to advance to the second round against Serbian Dusan Lajovic and Ernesto Escobedo against Austrian Sebastian Ofner. 

Acapulco, February 24, 2024.- With the presence of American tennis player Frances Tiafoe and the general director of Mextenis, Alvaro Falla, the draw for the main draw of the XXXI edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC was held. 

The top seeds already know their path to the ATP 500 title. 

Germany’s Alexander Zverev (No. 6), who is the tournament’s top seed, will debut against his compatriot Daniel Altmaier (No. 55), while Denmark’s Holger Rune (No. 7), the tournament’s second favorite, will face a player coming from the qualifying round. 

Defending champion, Australian Alex de Miñaur (No. 9) will start his journey against Japanese Taro Daniel (No. 62) looking to defend his title and with the aim of continuing his ascent in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after reaching the best position of his career last week.

American Taylor Fritz (No. 10), seeded fourth, will face Italian Matteo Arnaldi (No. 41) in the first round, while Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 11) will face Russian Roman Safiullin (No. 38) in his first match.

In other first round matches, the following are the clashes of the American players: Tommy Paul (No. 14) will play against British Jack Draper (No. 53), Frances Tiafoe (No. 15) will compete against Australian Max Purcell (No. 51), while Ben Shelton (No. 16) will face British Daniel Evans (No. 42).

Meanwhile, British Cameron Norrie (No. 23) will face German Dominik Koepfer (No. 57), Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 29) will play against a qualifier, as well as the finalist in Los Cabos, Australian Jordan Thompson (No. 40).

As for the Mexicans, Rodrigo Pacheco will try to advance to the second round against Serbian Dusan Lajovic (No. 58) and Ernesto Escobedo against Austrian Sebastian Ofner (No. 37). 

The third player to receive an invitation to the tournament, Argentine Diego Schartzman (No. 115) will debut in the Acapulco tournament against Serbian tennis player Miomir Kecmanovic (No. 54). 

“It’s an important draw, all of an incredible level. We wish him good luck and hope they all do very well. It has been a great experience that we have lived with the two tournaments (Los Cabos and Acapulco), it has been a challenge, but it will be a nice experience and, without a doubt, it is a great fortune to have both tournaments,” commented Alvaro Falla, general director of Mextenis. 

American Frances Tiafoe also gave his first impressions about the draw, “I am very happy. It’s my fifth time here and I feel very good in the tournament because they are great fans,” he said. 

The main draw activity starts on Monday, February 26. This Saturday and Sunday will be the qualifying tournament that will distribute four tickets to the main draw.

• The Australian tennis player’s record during 2023 was 46 wins and 26 losses, which allowed him to enter the Top 10 in January 2024 
• In 2023 Alex de Miñaur reached five finals, one of which he won.

Mexico City, February 15, 2024.- Tennis player Alex de Miñaur will arrive at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC as the reigning champion after defeating American Tommy Paul last year in a match that was decided in three sets, but that was not the only final the Australian reached, as he was close to lifting four other championships throughout the season to consolidate the best of his career.

After Acapulco, the Australian reached the prelude to four titles, but did not have the same luck as in Mexico. 

In June, the Australian reached the final of the Queen’s Club in London, a tournament that serves as preparation for Wimbledon, where he lost to the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz after leaving the likes of Andy Murray, Diego Schwartzman, Adrian Mannarino and Holger Rune in the way.

In July he returned to Mexico to take part in the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo 2023 in Los Cabos and played in the final match against Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Weeks after Los Cabos, Alex de Miñaur reached the final of the Toronto Masters, but did not have a good match and was defeated by the Italian Jannik Sinner, thus adding his third lost final of the year.

Curiously, in November he faced Sinner again, but now in the Davis Cup Finals held in Malaga, Spain. 

His record during 2023 was 46 wins and 26 losses, which allowed him to enter the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in January and achieve the best position of his career by reaching the 10th step. 

At the beginning of the 2024 season, the 24-year-old Australian player lost in the round of 16 of the Australian Open against German Alexander Zverev; however, in Acapulco he will try to defend his title and continue climbing positions in the ranking.

• The Norwegian tennis player shared his ‘Spotify Wrapped’ confirming his taste for the music of Canadian singer ‘The Weeknd’
• The tournaments in the American continent are going well for the Oslo-born player and he will be looking for a new title in Mexican soil

Mexico City, January 19, 2023.- Casper Ruud’s passion for sports – not only tennis, but also golf – is complemented by his extreme taste for music, especially the music of Canadian singer and producer Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, better known as ‘The Weeknd’.

Each year, the Spotify platform shares a summary (Spotify Wrapped) of what each user listens to most frequently over the past twelve months. In 2023, what the Norwegian tennis player listened to the most was precisely The Weeknd.

On several occasions, the Oslo-born tennis player and winner of 10 titles in the ATP circuit, has shared his taste for music and has uploaded different videos to his social networks enjoying the concerts of the Canadian artist.

Casper Ruud’s love for sports is not limited to tennis, a passion he inherited from his father and coach, Christian Ruud, who until before his son appeared on the ATP circuit, was considered the best Norwegian tennis player in history.

When Christian Ruud retired, he started going to the golf courses and it was in those recreational times that Casper also took a liking to this sport to the extent that at the age of 14 he had to decide whether he would continue his sports career with a racket or with a golf club, we all know how this story ended.

Casper Ruud’s career has been meteoric since that August 2015 when he started scoring in the ATP ranking in the 1645th place, until his best position in his career, climbing up to the number 2 ATP ranking in December 2022.

The tournaments in the American continent are given to the Norwegian tennis player, since the first title in his career he won in Buenos Aires (2020) and he did it again in 2022, he also won in San Diego, California in 2021 and hopefully in 2024 he will be among the contenders for the title in Acapulco.