The XXVIII edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC has been categorized for having strong young players, starting with the first two seeds: the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and the German Alexander Zverev, ages 22 and 23.

But besides these two players who are well known on the ATP circuit, there were also five young players who are in the Top 10 of the Next Generation: Felix Auger-Aliassime, (WC) Sebastian Korda, (Q) Lorenzo Musetti, (Q) Brandon Nakashima and (WC) Carlos Alcaraz; the last two were eliminated in the first round of AMT 2021.

This category was created by the ATP in order to provide support to all players under the age of 20. At the end of each season, the top eight compete for the long-awaited Next Gen title.

Next Gen’s #1 is the 20-year-old Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 18) who defeated the American Sebastian Korda (No. 92), fourth in the junior ranking, and reached the quarterfinals in Acapulco for the first time.

Aliassime wants to make the most out of this year since it’s his last Next-Gen to get his first title on the circuit. So far, he has played seven finals but hasn’t been able to win one. He reached five of those finals as a teenager, making him the first player to make five finals since Nadal in the 2004-2005 seasons.

“It’s my last year as a Next Gen player, it’s weird because I’m getting older every year, I’m the oldest in this category. There are many great players my age, but also great players like Carlos (Alcaraz) or Lorenzo (Musetti) who are 17 and 19 years old.”

It was precisely the second round where the Canadian defeated Korda. Aliassime took advantage of his rival’s constant mistakes and he was playing better than him since the beginning of the match.

In the second set, he broke in the seventh game, then took the lead 4-3 and shortly after that, he would surely win the match 6-3, 6-4 and get his ticket to the quarterfinals of the Abierto for the first time.

“I have proven that I can keep my mindset under control at important times, and I try to stay calm. I did well today because although Korda was playing better and better, I didn’t want him to get away,” Felix said.

Meanwhile, the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (No. 120), who defeated Diego Schwartzman in the first round, is another active player in the tournament.

The 19-year-old Italian, sixth in Next Gen’s ranking, demonstrated his mental strength by taking control of the match in an incredible way against the American Frances Tiafoe, and he managed to win after three sets of 2-6, 6-3, 7-6.   

The 19-year-old Italian was 5-0 down after 21 minutes of the match, it looked like the night would end fast when Tiafoe won the first set 6-2.

Musetti, who comes from the qualifying tournament and is still recovering from the strenuous match yesterday, was forced to deal with his fatigue but he overcame that, and he managed to tie the match winning the second set 6-3.

Tiafoe, 23 years old, broke at the start of the final set and the score quickly went up 3-0. However, Musetti was not willing to let go of any opportunity and he played a great match in order to extend the set and define the tie-break match. The young man could not hold back his tears after his great battle.

“It was a very complicated match; every point was a struggle and when it ended, I couldn’t hold back my tears. I went and hugged my coach Simone Tartarini because I wanted to share this victory with him, he is like a second father to me”.

Musetti, #120 in the ranking, continues to live a dream in Acapulco and will seek to continue surprising everyone in the quarterfinals, where he will face the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. Thanks to his great attitude, he is beginning to attract the attention of other players such as the German Alexander Zverev.

“I am no longer the new generation. Although I’ve been there for 3 years, now we can get to know new young players like Musetti and Alcaraz. It’s important for the sport to make everyone see how the new generations are starting to gain strength,” said Sasha, surprised by the way the Italian has advanced in the tournament after entering through the qualifying rounds. Without a doubt, these young players have left their mark in Acapulco. From Carlos Alcaráz and the amazing match against Zverev; Sebastian Korda surprising Marin Cilic in the first round; Brandon Nakashima who had a great qualifying tournament; Lorenzo Musetti who has fought against all odds in order to advance in the tournament; all the way to Felix Auger-Aliassime who, in his short 20 years, is still struggling to raise the trophy.

The Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (No.5) continues to provethat he has a very high tennis level in this XXVIII edition of the tournament. The Greek only needed  57 minutes to defeat the American John Isner 6-3 and 6-2, securing his ticket to the quarterfinals where he will face the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 18).

Unlike the four previous matches between the Greek and the American, this time there was no tie break. Before their match in Acapulco, they had played 9 sets, 7 of which were sudden-death.

“Today’s score was better than I expected, I tried to keep my game simple without forgetting to win. I need luck tomorrow, it will be a complicated match”, said Tsitsipas.

The Canadian Felix Auger-Alissime (No. 18), number 1 of the Next Gen, defeated the American Sebastian Korda (No. 92), who is ranked number four among the best junior players in the ATP, in a match that lasted an hour with thirty-seven minutes.

Their experience was important in this match, the Canadian player (who has more matches in the ATP circuit) had a score of 3-0 in the first set in less than 15 minutes from the beginning of the match, that was enough for him to finish the match in 51 minutes with a score of 6-3.

The only wild card still active in the tournament seemed to have found his rhythm in the fourth game, breaking the Canadian’s serve, but that did not discourage Auger-Aliassime who with his serve, defeated his opponent and finished the match 6-3 and 6-4.

When he turned to the Mextenis Stadium’s public, he wore the Mexican National Team jersey as a thank you for the support he has received, also recognizing that it was an extra motivation to win.

His rival for the quarterfinal will be the first seeded, Stefanos Tsitsipas, with whom he expects a great match.

Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev (No. 7) defeated the Serbian Laslo Djere (No. 57), reaching the quarterfinals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC for the third time. After a complicated start, where he was 3-1 below the score, he managed to recover and won 5 of the last 6 games of the first set, finishing it 6-4.

In the seventh game, the number 7 of the ATP broke the Serbian’s serve, an advantage that he did not let go in order to access the next round where now he will face the Norwegian Casper Ruud (No. 25), who defeated the Dutch Tallon Griekspoor (No. 154) 4-6,6-3 and 7-6 (3).

The German Dominik Koepfer (No.71) defeated Milos Raonic (No. 15) 6-4 and 6-2 by taking advantage of his rival’s mistakes. The German will face the British Cameron Norrie (No. 63) who defeated the Italian Fabio Fognini (No. 17) 6-4 and 6-3.

The most exciting match of the day was the one played by Frances Tiafoe (No.64) and Lorenzo Musetti (No. 120). After being tied until the third set, the Italian, who came from the qualifying round, managed to get a score of 3-0 in order to bring the match into a tie break, where he defeated his opponent 2-6,6-3 and 7-6 (1) in 2 hours and 43 minutes.

Grigor Dimitrov (No. 17) will be Musetti’s rival and he will seek his way into the semifinals. The champion of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC of 2014 defeated, in less than ninety minutes, the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic (No. 38) 6-4 and 6-2.

In the doubles round we had four matches where the French Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut defeated the pair formed by the South African Raven Klaasen and the Japanese Ben McLachlan with a double 6-4. France’s Benoit Paire and Serbia’s Laslo Djere will be their quarterfinals rivals after they defeated the American Austin Krajicek and the Croatian Franko Skugor 2-6, 6-3, 10-6. The Mexican Santiago González, together with the Brazilian Marcelo Demoliner, debuted in front of the pair formed by the German Dominik Koepfer and the New Zealander Artem Sitak, where they won 7-5,4-6 ,1-0 (8). In the quarterfinals, they will face the duo formed by the American Rajeev Ram and the British Joe Salisbury. The American and the British defeated Grigor Dimitrov and Tommy Paul 6-4,3-6,1-0(8).

The second day of the tournament at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC was a day full of emotions and intensity where the first round of the main draw was completed, and the doubles tournament began.

The big surprise was when the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (No. 120), despite being the second youngest player in the tournament, being only 19 years, defeated the Argentine Diego Schwartzman (No. 9) in three very sets of 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

Schwartzman arrived at Acapulco after playing the clay tour in South America, where he was crowned in the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires, his hometown. This was one of the reasons why he had a hard time adapting to the hard courts of Acapulco.

Even with the Mextenis Stadium chanting Peque’s name, Musetti increased the intensity, he risked himself more on key points and nullified any possibility for Schwartzman to score, who struggled until the last moment.

“It’s not easy to describe. The only thing I am sure is that it will be difficult for me to sleep tonight because I still have a lot of adrenaline left from the match, so although I am tired, it will be difficult to sleep,” said Musetti, who accessed the main draw through the qualification.

Musetti is coached by Simone Tartarini, and he made himself known to the tennis world in September of last year when he reached the third round of the Rome 1000 Masters and defeated players such as Kei Nishikori and Stan Wawrinka.

The current #12 of the world played a spectacular tennis. In order for him to achieve his goal of becoming the champion in an ATP tournament, he will have to defeat his next rival, the American Frances Tiafoe (No.64), who also had a difficult match that lasted almost three hours against his compatriot Brandon Nakashima (No.145).

Meanwhile, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 5) was a very strong player, and it only took him just over an hour to defeat Benoit Paire (No. 29) 6-3, 6-1.

Despite his long journey from Marseille, Tsitsipas was ready to go to the Mextenis Stadium and showed the tournament his first-class tennis, which was highly appreciated by the fans.

“It was amazing to see the energy of the audience out there. I felt a lot of support and love from the public and although I am not playing my best, due to the pandemic, they truly are the greatest. It’s important to live this and enjoy every moment, I hope to feel more of these emotions throughout the week, “said the world’s fifth player, who is trained by his father and is looking to win his sixth title in the ATP.

Tsitsipas’ next rival will be the American John Isner (No. 26), 26 in the ranking, with whom he has a score of 2-2. The American’s two victories were in 2017 and 2018 while Tsitsipas won the last two matches in 2019 and 2020.

“Surely there will be very good serves, I will try to not only respond to his serve, but also to have a strong serve myself,” said the Greek.

In other news, the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (No.17) advanced to the second round after the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino retired when he lost 6-4, 3-0 and said he retired due to a stomach problem. Dimitrov, Acapulco’s champion in 2014, will play against the 21-year-old Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic (No. 38), who had a solid first match against Feliciano Lopez (No. 61) who he defeated 6-4, 6-4.

The Italian Fabio Fognini (No. 18), sixth pre-classified, defeated his compatriot Salvatore Caruso (No.79) in straight sets of 7-5, 6-2, and he will play against the British Cameron Norrie (No. 63) who also won, 6-3, 6-3, against the qualifier Stefan Kozlov (389).

Another player who had a solid start was the 22-year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud (No. 25) who only needed over an hour in order to defeat Daniel Elahi Galan (No. 121) 6-4, 6-1. He will face qualifier Tallon Griekspoor (No. 154) who defeated the American Denis Kudla (No. 123) for the second consecutive day, right when he entered the main draw as a lucky loser.

Finally, the Canadian Milos Raonic (No. 15), who debuted in the tournament after numerous attempts, advanced to the second round after beating Tommy Paul (No. 51), 7-6, 6-4.

“It’s been so much fun playing here. We are in a beautiful vacation destination, playing tennis in the evenings, so it’s an amazing atmosphere, “said the world’s former #3.

This past Tuesday, the doubles tournament began with a resounding victory of 6-2, 6-3 of the number one doubles formed by the Spaniard Marcel Granollers and the Argentine Horacio Zeballos against the Croatian Marin Cilic and the Austrian Oliver Marach.

OTHER RESULTS – DOBLES

Ken Skupski (GBR) / Neal Skupski (GBR) defeated Diego Schwartzman (ARG) / Joao Sousa (PRT) 6-4, 7-6 (7) .

Luke Saville (AUS) / John-Patrick Smith (AUS) defeated Alexander Zverev (DEU) / Mischa Zverev (DEU) 6-2, 7-5.Jamie Murray (GBR) / Bruno Soares (BRA) defeated Rohan Bopanna (IND) / Aisam-Ul Haq Qureshi (PAK) (4) 6-7,6-2, 10-1

The Italian Musetti surprises everyone in Acapulco when he eliminated the Argentine Schwartzman.

The Italian Lorenzo Musetti (No. 120) lived an unforgettable night in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC when he defeated the Argentine Diego Schwartzman (No. 9) in three very close sets of 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

The young promise, who just turned 19 on March 3rd, showed a lot of temple in his first match against the Top 10 player since Schwartzman did not stop fighting until the end.

“It was an amazing night, I knew Diego was a fighter and he fought for all the points. I knew it was hard even with a 5-1 in the third set. When he shortened the distance and the score went to 5-4, I was already very tired and all three aces were the key to my victory,” said Musetti, who had to play three qualifying matches to reach his fifth main draw of an ATP tournament.

Before playing against Peque, Musetti had the opportunity to train with the current Italian tennis legend, Fabio Fognini (No. 18). Spending time with someone he admired as he grew up, and with whom he has a close relationship, helped him enter the Estadio Mextenis more relaxed.

“Fabio is very nice to me, today we warmed up together, we are friends and he went to see me play for a while, that was important to me. We are friends and we are close, I am happy to be able to learn from him, “said the Australian Junior Open champion (2019), who started getting people’s attention on the circuit in September last year when, from the qualifying rounds, he reached the third round of the Masters 1000 in Rome, leaving behind players such as Kei Nishikori and Stan Wawrinka.

In Italy, Musetti is already considered as one of the greatest promises, after his match he was praised by Fognini, “from now to the years to come, we will have high expectations. Today when he beated Diego in the main court, it was an important sign, it means that he is growing”.

In addition to the 8 Italians who participated, either in the qualification or in the main draw of Acapulco, Musetti has been accompanied by his coach Simone Tartarini, who has been at his side for more than 11 years, when he was still a child.

“When I was 8, I changed clubs and started working with Simone because he was in a club with a lot of kids where they were good sparrings. He is like my second father, he travels with me everywhere, we share everything and I always joke that he is my wife,” he said with laughter. The current #120 in the world has deployed a spectacular tennis from the qualifying rounds and now in the main draw. After living that moment in the stadium, which he considered “difficult to assimilate and describe”, he took a steady pace towards his goal of becoming champion in an ATP tournament.

• Alexander Zverev (No. 7) advanced to the second round after beating the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.
• The young American Sebastian Korda (No. 92), who received a WC, surprised the Croatian.
• The four qualifiers to enter the main draw are set.

The second pre-classified, Alexander Zverev (No. 7), won against the young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 6-1, in the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis 2021.

The 23-year-old German was erratic at the beginning of the match and Alcaraz managed to break his first serve and went up in the match 2-0. Sasha managed to find the rhythm soon after he regained his serve and went up on the scoreboard. In the seventh game he took advantage of a break points and broke Alcaraz’s serve and took an advantage he would not let go.

Both players kept their serve until the seventh game when the rookie’s nerves led him to make unforced mistakes and he ended up handing the set to Sasha 6-3.

“I didn’t know the player and that’s why it took me a while to start the match. In the end I found my rhythm and I am happy with how the game ended. I started to feel more comfortable in the second set, not only in the serve but also my passing shots with my drive.

Zverev, seventh in the ranking, took advantage of the 17-year-old’s nerves and played a very offensive tennis, shooting 11 aces and winning 86% of his first-service points.

“Last year I wasn’t playing well, and I had eye surgery. This year I had a good first match and that helps me build momentum, I hope I keep this as the game progresses”.

In the end, Alcaraz says goodbye but also leaves a great impression to both his rival and the fans.

Meanwhile, Zverev will now play against Laslo Djere (No. 57) who defeated American Steve Johnson (No. 83), in straight sets 6-2, 6-3.

The 25-year-old Serb had never played in the Abierto Mexicano de Telcel presentado por HSBC, but he has adapted to the conditions very well.

The Mexican Gerardo López Villaseñor (No. 561) said goodbye to the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis after falling in the first round against the German Dominik Koepfer (No. 71), in straight sets 6-4, 6-2.

The Mexican, 25 years old, arrived to Acapulco a week ago after being the main player in the Davis Cup series in which he defeated the Bulgaria adding two points in singles. Unfortunately, he did not manage to find the rhythm to win, and although he equalled 4-4 in the first set, things did not work for him in the second.  

“Gerry” concludes his third participation in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, but he is very thankful with Mextenis for giving him the opportunity to learn from the best players in the world and to experience this moment with them.

“I think it’s a good week to learn from these important players, how they act, how they train. I trained with Caruso, with Silva and that is what one comes here for, to try to adapt to the speed of that type of players and to also be able to give your best tennis“.

Koepfer is waiting for his rival, who will be between the American Tommy Paul (No. 51) and the Canadian Milos Raonic (No. 15), the match is scheduled at 18:00 at the Grandstand Caliente.mx.

The young Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (No.19), seventh seed, resolved a difficult match against the American Tennys Sandgren (No. 58) which he surpassed by 6-3, 7-6.

Aliassime will have again a complicated clash in the second round in which he will face the American wild card, Sebastian Korda (No. 92), who surprised everyone by eliminating the Croatian Marin Cilic (No. 43) 7-5, 6-2.

Sebastian, son of former tennis player Petr Korda, was a finalist in the ATP 250 of Delray Beach and was crowned in the Challenger of Quimper at the beginning of the year. Among his multidisciplinary team is former world number one Andre Agassi.

Meanwhile, the American John Isner (No.26) won 6-4, 6-3 against the Italian Salvatore Caruso (No.79).

QUALIFYERS

This Monday the four tickets of the qualification for the main draw were set, the American Brandon Nakashima (No.145) continues with good pace in the tournament and has not lost a single set in his first three games of qualifying rounds. On this occasion, he defeated the Italian Federico Gaio (No. 140) by 6-3, 6-3, and won access to the main draw where he will face the American Frances Tiafoe (No.64).

The Italian Joven Lorenzo Musetti (No 119) got a marvelous victory of 6-4, 6-2 against the Portuguese Frederico Ferreira Silva (No. 173).

After Alcaraz fell in the first round, Musetti, who turned 19 on March 3^rd, is the youngest player in the tournament. It will certainly be interesting to see how he plays against his Argentine rival, Diego Schwartzman (No. 9).

The American Stefan Kozlov (No. 387) is another qualifier who earned a spot in the Main Draw, after the Dutch Botic Van De Zandschulp (No. 149) retired after falling in the first set 6-3.

Finally, the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (No. 154) defeated the American Denis Kudla (No. 123), 6-3, 7-6 but his victory didn’t count that much since Kudla got to the main draw as a lucky loser against Kevin Anderson. Unfortunately for both players, they will face each other again in the main draw.

The Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 5), who will play for the first time in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, thought that the atmosphere in which the Acapulco ATP 500 is held is refreshing for him since he just spent 16 days isolated while he participated in the indoor tournaments in Rotterdam and Marseille.

“I enjoy this way more than being stuck in a city where I’m not allowed to go outside the hotel. I was isolated for 16 consecutive days, definitely getting to Acapulco is something different and refreshing”.

The first seed of Acapulco’s ATP 500 had a long journey of 23 hours from Marseille to Mexico, and he did not waste any time trying to adapt to the heat, humidity and “to respect all conditions that’ve been so different from those of the past weeks”.

Mexico is a special place for Tsitsipas, winner of five titles on the ATP Tour. Only six years ago, in the junior tournament in Merida, Yucatan, his dream of being a professional tennis player began.

“Mexico City’s Grade A and the Merida Open were my first international trips I took with my dad to compete. After Mexico, I reached the final of the Orange Bowl, my first positive result in tennis. So, Mexico is the place where it all started for me, where my dream and my goal to be a professional began”.

The 22-year-old has come a long way. He won his first trophy at the end of 2018 in Stockholm, but it wasn’t until 2019 that he started grabbing the spotlight. He entered the semifinals in the Australian Open and won three of the five titles, including the Nitto ATP Finals, where he surpassed Daniil Medvedev, Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev.

“It’s a privilege to be a part of this. Tennis is a very complicated sport and it takes a lot of work to get where I am, but there is still a lot of work to do this season”.

In addition to conquering Acapulco this week and raising his first trophy of the 2021 season, Tsitsipas wants to win a Grand Slam. In the last two majors, Roland Garros and Australian Open, he reached the semifinals, but he needs to work on his confidence in order to get the long-awaited title.

“I’m so close to the Grand Slam finals. What I lack is a little more experience and confidence when it comes to facing these players in these types of matches. I must focus on enjoying the moment and not feel so pressured by the dream of winning a Grand Slam”.

While we wait for that victory, the world’s fifth tennis player will do everything in his power to win the trophy in Acapulco. The first player he has to defeat in order to achieve this goal will be the Frenchman Benoit Paire (No. 31). The match is scheduled for Tuesday, time TBA, at the Estadio Mextenis in front of the 3,000 fans who will attend to meet the young tennis idol.

The Spaniard Alcaraz said he will relax and enjoy the match against the German Zverev in his debut in Acapulco.

The young Spaniard Carlos Alcaráz (No. 132) already worked on his strategy to face the German Alexander Zverev (No.7) in the first round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, this will be his first match against a Top 10 player in his career.

“To be honest, it’s amazing. I really wanted to play against the best,” said the 17-year-old to Mextenis.

He remembered that in Australia, where he got eliminated in the second round, he could’ve had a chance to play against Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 5), first seed in Acapulco.

“If I had won, I would have found myself against Stefanos which would’ve been very exciting, but now I get to play against Zverev, my first match against a Top 10. I will enjoy this, I will do my best, I will relax and enjoy the match”, said the Spaniard.

Meanwhile, Zverev (No.7) also showed respect for Carlos and remembered back when he was that age.

“It’s interesting to see such a young player. I still remember well when I was the new face, I was 17 and the youngest player on the circuit. Now it is up to him (Alcaraz),” Zverev said.

For the German, playing against the Spaniard is “dangerous since he plays without any pressure”, although he also said that “there are many things the young player still needs to learn”, however, in his time in the circuit “he has proven to be a magnificent player and it will be interesting to see how he does this year”.

Regarding the game plan against Zverev, the Spaniard said he has worked with his coach and compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero, who became number 1 in the world back in 2003, and also won Roland Garros. Ferrero is trying to transmit all his experience to the young player.

“It’s amazing having Juan Carlos as a coach, he helps me a lot both on and off the courts,” said the young player.

On June 8^th, 2003, when Carlos Alcaraz was a newborn, Ferrero won the only Grand Slam in his career, raising the Musketeers’ Trophy in Roland Garros. Three months later, he achieved first place in the world’s ranking.

Although he did not live it and perhaps doesn’t remember, Alcaraz knows Ferrero’s story perfectly, who now, in his role as a mentor, is trying to pass all his experience to him.

“He is someone that has lived so much, he has a lot of experience and I try to listen to him in everything since I know it’s for my own good. The truth is that I do learn from his experience and everything he has lived helps me a lot,” Alcaraz said.

Only two years older than Alcaraz, Ferrero debuted as a professional in March 1999, retired in October 2012 and dedicated his life directing his academy. It was precisely at his Academy, JC Ferrero-Equelite, that he met Alcaraz. He already had heard of the Spaniard and reaffirmed all the rumors when he saw him play a Futures when he was 14 years old.

The match between the world’s number 7 and the young Spaniard will be the second match of the day and it will be on the Estadio Mextenis. The winner of the Zverev-Alcaraz match will play in the second match against the winner between the Serbian Laslo Djere (No. 57) and the American Steve Johnson (No. 83), who will finish the day at the Grandstand Caliente.mx.

The 19-year-old Brandon Nakashima (No.145) defeated Thiago Seyboth Wild (No.124).

– The American Denis Kudla (No. 123) continues with a steady pace all the way to the main draw, he defeated the Colombian Alejandro González (No. 448) in straight sets.

– Joao Sousa (No. 100), best player in the qualifying round, was surprised by the American Stefan Kozlov (No. 387).

During the second day of qualifying activities in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC was having a great atmosphere and a lot of euphoria upon the arrival of the star player of the main draw, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The American Brandon Nakashima (No.145) continues to show a magnificent tennis level. This time he defeated the Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild (No.124) by a double 6-3.

Nineteen-year-old Nakashima trains with former tennis player Dusan Vemic, he decided to become a professional in late 2019 after leaving the University of Virginia, where he only competed for a year but left with a score of 17-5.

In 2020 he received a WC for the US Open since he was crowned in a few ITF tournaments and won a pair of Challengers. Sadly, for him, he played against Alexander Zverev in the second round and lost. In October 2019 he was number 709 of the world and after little more than a year as a professional, he climbed to number 145.

Nakashima will face the 29-year-old Italian Federico Gaio (No. 140) for one of the four tickets to the main draw. Gaio got his pass in the last qualifying round, all thanks to Frenchman Nicolas Mahut (No. 232), since he withdrew in the second set of the match. The Italian is looking to play his first ATP tournament in this 2021.

Meanwhile, the American Denis Kudla (No. 123) has achieved his position in the ranking, and he has still not lost single a set. This took him an hour and 18 minutes to defeat the Colombian Alejandro González (No. 448) by sets of 6-3, 6-2.

Kudla, 28, has had a tricky start of the year, but will look to fix everything in Acapulco, where he is competing for the third time. In 2020 he lost in the second qualifying round against the British Cameron Norrie, while in 2016 he lost in the first round to the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.

The American will face the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (No. 154), who surprised the Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis (No. 241), after a close match that lasted more than 2:30 hours and caused a lot of sensation among the fans who attended the Grandstand Caliente.mx.

Not even with 17 aces was enough for Kokkinakis, who ended giving up the match 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 against the 24-year-old Griekspoor, who did not stop attacking from the baseline.

The Italian Lorenzo Musetti (No.119), one of the promising young men of his country, defeated the Argentine Agustín Velotti (No. 347) in straight sets by 6-3, 7-5. The 19-year-old Italian will face the Portuguese Federico Ferreira Silva (No. 173), had an exhausting 2:49-hour match, and defeated the German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (No. 133) in three sets.

The surprise of the day was how the American Stefan Kozlov (No. 387) defeated the Portuguese Joao Sousa (No. 100) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, a player from the qualifying round with a higher ranking. Sousa just finished a very long match against Mischa Zverev and although he had a good level of play against Kozlov, he was exhausted, and he could not keep up with the 23-year-old.

Kozlov’s rival will be the Dutchman Botic Van De Zandschulp (No. 149), who advanced after his Bosnian opponent Damir Dzumhur was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct.

In the doubles, the Australians Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith earned a place in the main draw by beating 6-3, 6-2 the duo formed by the German Dominik Koepfer and the New Zealander Artem Sitak.

Abierto Mexicano Telcel Presentado por HSBC

Lorenzo Musetti (No.119)

USA Denis Kudla (No. 123), 28 años

NLD Tallon Griekspoor (No. 154), 24 años

ITA Federico Gaio (No. 140)

USA Brandon Nakashima (No.145)

PRT Frederico Ferreira Silva (No. 173)

NLD Botic Van De Zandschulp (No. 149)

Joao Sousa (No. 100),

Stefan Kozlov (No. 387)

The doubles was also exciting, starring the Mexicans Luis Patiño and Gerardo López Villaseñor who lost 6-4, 6-7, 10-3 against the duo formed by the German Dominik Koepfer and the Australian Artem Sitak.

• The tournament will have three players from the ATP Top 10: Stefanos Tsitsipas (No.5), Alexander Zverev (No. 7) and Diego Schwartzman (No. 9).
• Grigor Dimitrov (No.17) is the only player in the main draw who knows what it’s like to conquer in Acapulco.
• The Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz will face Alexander Zverev calmly and with the intention of enjoying playing against the first Top 10 of his career.

This Monday, March 15^th, will be the start of the XXVIII edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, where fans will have the opportunity to enjoy three players in the ATP Top 10, as well as 10 of the 30 best tennis players of today.

The Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 5),first seed of the tournament, is already in Acapulco after arriving this Sunday from Marseille, where he was playing the ATP 250 tournament, where the Frenchman Humbert defeated him in the quarterfinals, this prevented him from revalidating his title achieved back in 2020.

The 22-year-old, and winner of the Nitto Finals in 2019, will debut in Mexico against the Frenchman Benoit Paire (No. 29),who, just before arriving to Acapulco, was playing the tournaments in Buenos Aires and Cordoba.

One of the first players that arrived at the Princess Mundo Imperial Hotel, home of the tournament, was the German Alexander Zverev (No.7),this is his fourth participation, and he will seek to win the trophy.

“I’ve played well here, semifinals and finals. I still need one more step to win and I really want to face that challenge. It motivates me to play here and we’ll see how I do”, said the 23-year-old player.

He will not have an easy rival in the first round. The champion of the Nitto Finals of 2018 will face the 17-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (No. 132)in the first round, who received one of the three wildcards for this edition.

“It’s dangerous because he plays without pressure, I think there are many things he still needs to learn but he has proven to be a great player in the past few months, it will be interesting to see how he does this year”, said Alexander Zverev about his rival.

This will be the first time that the young Spaniard will face a Top 10 player in his career as a professional, a challenge that he takes with enthusiasm and seriousness. If he wins the tournament, he would become the youngest winner in the history of the tournament, surpassing Rafael Nadal, three-time winner of the tournament who won it at the age of 19.

“The truth is that this is amazing, I really wanted to play against the best. I will enjoy playing against Zverev, my first match against a Top 10. I will play the match relaxed and I will enjoy it”, stated the 17-year-old Spaniard.

Meanwhile, the Argentine Diego Schwartzman (No. 9), who recently achieved the champion title in Buenos Aires, will seek to emulate Sam Querrey, the only winning player of Los Cabos and Acapulco.

“(Winning in Buenos Aires) was a spectacular sensation, very nice, very different. Playing at home with family and friends, it’s a place that helped me become a tennis player and to also see my first professional matches and to play them. It helped me cross off another goal that I had in my head for a long time,”said the Argentinian.

In his fourth participation in the tournament, the Argentinian will seek how to win the second round and access for the first time to the round of the best eight of the tournament. Schwartzman will make his debut against some of the players who got their wild card this weekend, being the only first seed that will have this type of matches.

After several years in which for various reasons the Canadian Milos Raonic (No. 15)had to dismiss the tournament, this 2021 will be his premiere in Acapulco and he will do it against the American Tommy Paul (No. 51), who reached the quarterfinals in the Mexican tournament last year.

The Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (No.17)is the only player in the main draw who knows what it is like to feel the glory in Acapulco since back in 2014 he defeated the South African Kevin Anderson (No. 88)in the final.

“Being the only champion in the table is an honor, it makes me feel special”, saidthe Bulgarian in reference to his victory seven years ago, however, he did not consider that to be pressure, so he said, “I will enjoy that we are able to play again.”

His first rival of this 28^thedition of the tournament will be the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino (No. 36).If he wins this match, he would face the winner of the second match between the Spaniard Feliciano López (No. 61) and the SerbianMiomir Kecmanovic (No. 38).

Other notable matches will be played by the American Sebastián Korda (No. 92),the Croatian Marin Cilic (No. 43) and the MexicanGerardo López Villaseñor (No. 561) against the GermanDominik Koepfer (No.71).

The Grandstand Caliente.mx gathered a large number of fans who attended to support the Mexican Juan Alejandro Hernández (No. 883), who received a WC to the qualification round. Both Hernandez and his rival, the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (No.119), had trouble keeping their serve on the first set. The key for the 21-year-old came in the eight game where he broke the Italian, confirmed his serve and took the first set 6-3.

Despite the support of the fans and the great atmosphere throughout the game, Hernández failed to maintain his rival’s level. Musetti, a 19-year-old promise, took advantage, improved his serve percentage and maintained his serve without complications to win the match in three sets, with a score of 3-6, 6-1, 6-0.

Meanwhile, the young Brandon Nakashima (No.145) was too strong against the Mexican Luis Patiño (No. 920) and beat him 6-2, 6-1 in just over an hour. The 19-year-old will seek to be a step closer towards his second ATP main draw, against the Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild (No.124) who left behind the two-meter Serbian player, Danilo Petrovic (No. 159), after three disputed set 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, that lasted more than two hours.

Seyboth Wild, who turned 21 on his arrival in Acapulco, will seek to repeat what he achieved last year at the ATP 250 in Santiago, when he got his first and only title on the circuit.

The doubles also had an exciting match starring the Mexicans Luis Patiño y Gerardo López Villaseñor who lost 6-4,6-7,10-3 against the duo formed by the German Dominik Koepfer and the Australian Artem Sitak.

The match of the day was with two of the circuit’s veterans, the Portuguese Joao Sousa (No. 100), 31 years old and the German Mischa Zverev (No. 280) 33 years old. The older Zverev brother had a slow and complicated serve. The result of four double faults and a very low percentage of 43% in the first serve, Zverev left in Sousa’s hands the first set.

With a lot of intensity on the court and with his younger brother, Alexander, supporting him from the stands, Mischa improved his serve in the second set, and although he made double faults, he made up for them with five aces. The German, who received a WC to the qualifying round, converted one of the six break points awarded to him by Sousa and equalized the match by taking the set 7-5.

The third and final set was just as tight as the first two. Both players managed to maintain their serve until the ninth game, when Zverev broke Sousa’s serve and took a momentary advantage of 5-4.

The Portuguese was not ready to surrender and he recovered the break one game later. He continued with the momentum, took advantage of Mischa’s lack of play, who was only playing his second singles match in the season, and took the third set and the match 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 after more than 2:30 hours of an intense battle.

Sousa will face the American Stefan Kozlov (No. 387), who left behind his compatriot Jordi Arconada (No.527).

The Australian Thanasi Kokinakis (No. 241) had a great game on his return to Acapulco for the first time since 2018. The 24-year-old player, who has had a very complicated year (not because of the pandemic but also because of injuries), defeated the eight seed, the Swiss Henri Laaksonen (No. 134), 6-1, 6-3. He will play against the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (No. 154), 24 years old.

OTHER RESULTS:

USA Denis Kudla (No. 123) def. AUS John-Patrick Smith (No. 305) 6-4, 6-4

FRA Nicolás Mahut (No. 232) def. AUS Luke Saville (No. 388)6-3, 6-3

NLD Tallon Griekspoor (No. 154)def. ARG Hernán Casanova (No. 378) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2

COL Alejandro González (No. 448)def. USA Raymond Sarmiento (No. 420)2-6, 7-6, 3-0 Ret.

ITA Federico Gaio (No. 140) def. ITA Enrico Dalla Valle (456) 6-1, 6-4

PRT Frederico Ferreira Silva (No. 173) def. TWN Jason Jung (No. 148) 7-5, 6-2

DEU Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (No. 133) def. ITA Paolo Lorenzi (No. 160) 6-2, 6-0

NLD Botic Van De Zandschulp (No. 149) def. ARG Alessandro Bega (No. 353) 7-6(3), 6-1

ARG Agustín Velotti (No. 359) def. ARG Guido Iván Justo (No. 706) 6-0, 6-1

BIH Damir Dzumhur (No.125) def. USA Collin Altamirano (No. 412) 4-6, 7-6, 6-0