• Marcel Granollers (ESP) and Horacio Zeballos (ARG) qualified for the first time to the final of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.
• Ken and Neal Skupski are looking to be the third couple of brothers to raise the title.

Both couples will try to achieve their first title of the season

The doubles final of the XXVIII edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC has already the two couples that will play the match in order to win the title of the tournament.

After taking few weeks off, since falling in the first round of the Australian Open, the Spaniard Marcel Granollers and the Argentine Horacio Zeballos reached their first final of the year.

In the semi-final against France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, champions of the 2019 Nitto Finals, they managed to keep their rhythm displayed throughout their participation in the tournament. Supported by their serve and with a very fluid game, they advanced to the final of this edition.

It was until the sixth game of the first set when the couple, the first pre-classified of the tournament, managed to break Herbert’s serve in order to score 4-2, advantage that a game later consolidate with the  Spaniard’s serve and number 13 in the doubles ranking. They would end up closing the first set with the Argentine’s serve 6-3.

In the second set, they tied at 3-3 but in the seventh game and with the Frenchman Mahut’s serve, the Spanish-Argentine couple broke for 4-3 and although they won the next game, they were not able to close the match with the Argentine’s serve, causing this set to go to a tie break that benefited the couple formed by Granollers and Zeballos.

With a score of 6-3 and 7-6 (6), Zeballos and Granollers outperformed last year’s result when they fell in the first round. Achieving the title in Acapulco would be the first for them in 2021 and fifth title as a couple.

The second finalist couple of this edition is formed by the British brothers Neal and Ken Skupski, who defeated Rajeev Ram and John Salisbury (fourth seed in the tournament), in the semifinal.

In the first set they did not give time for their rivals to react when they broke their compatriot Salisbury’s first serve of the match, they took advantage to win the first set by 6-4.

In the second set, the game between the two couples were matched and it was until the sixth game when the Skupski brothers would see their rivals take over Neal’s serve and then Salisbury defended his serve to place himself 5-2, but that difference disappeared when in the ninth game they broke Rajeev Ram’s serve and held their serve for the 5-5.

The score kept tied for the rest of the match, forcing the two couples to decide the winner of the second set in the tie break, which was taken over by the British, who, like their rivals in the final, will seek their first title of the year, their third one as partners after Montpellier in 2018 and Budapest in 2019.

It will be the first time that these two couples face each other, although in the 2020 edition of Roland Garros, Neal Skupski teaming up with Jamie Murray defeated th ecouple formed by Zeballos and Granollers. If the Skupski’s brothers win, they would be the third couple of brothers to raise the champions’ title after the brothers Mike and Bob Bryan (2002 and 2004) and Alexander and Mischa Zverev (2019).

• The new venue, Arena GNP Seguros, will host the tournament starting 2022 and will have capacity for 10.299 people.
• “Grupo Pegaso’s dream is back: build a stadium for the most important tennis event in Latin America,” said Renata Burillo, president of Mextenis.
• Grupo Autofin México and Grupo Mundo Imperial announced the name, Arena GNP Seguros.

Acapulco, Guerrero.- The president of the Board of Directors of Mextenis, Renata Burillo, participated in the continuation of the construction of the Arena GNP Seguros, the new house of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, which will host the tournament starting in 2022.

The sports complex, that will have a capacity in the main stadium for 10,229 people, had to stop all construction work due to the pandemic, however, since this Tuesday, the construction is back and running, which has advanced 24%, of the venue completed and the foundation of the first structures.

“This Friday, the dream that began many years ago for Grupo Pegaso is now reactivated: building a venue for the most important tennis tournament in Latin America and one of the most important sporting events in Mexico,” Burillo said in a press conference.

She stated that despite the difficult situation the world is going through, “initiatives of this sort are worth sharing as they provide not only great news, but a real support for the people of Acapulco” that from now on it’s generating, and will continue to generate, a huge amount of direct and indirect jobs which is a very strong support for the destination.

Burillo highlighted that the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC “with its extensive media and international coverage, will add to the effort and help generate a positive image for this magnificent port, our beautiful Acapulco”.

The complex, which is part of the 2017-2022 Master Plan, has an investment of 30 million dollars, as well as the generation of 150 direct employments and up to 400 indirect employments, promoting an economic growth in Acapulco and the correct reactivation of activities that benefits the social welfare of the destination.

In the continuing of the construction of the new venue for the tournament, the president of the Grupo Autofin México and Grupo Mundo Imperial, the Public Accountant, Juan Antonio Hernández, said that with this construction “we will reach an extraordinary level of attraction”.

He also said: “I asked Alejandro Burillo that later on maybe we could be co-sponsors of different tennis events,” Hernández said, also adding that among other shows, there will be concerts, boxing matches and wrestling, basketball, exhibitions and other world-class events.

This idea was confirmed by the President of the Board of Directors of Mextenis, who acknowledged that the idea from the beginning was having a multifunctional venue and was contemplated to be used as many times a year.

The Governor of the state of Guerrero, Hector Astudillo Flores, considered very important “the fact of continuing with total support for the conclusion of this project”, especially in this moment that we are living the middle of the tournament in Acapulco.

“I’m sure that in March of 2022, the Mextenis tournament will be held in this venue,” said Astudillo.

The project, designed by the Architect, José de Arimatea Moyao López, includes a stadium for 10,229 spectators, and two smaller stadiums, Grandstand for 3,000 and 1,500 people and four other courts. One added value of this construction is the sustainability of the project.

There will be a total of 28 suites that can accommodate 22 spectators each with rows of three seats and benches, a comfortable interior room with air conditioning, toilets and bar. There will also be two suites for 56 people in all the facilities. In addition, it will have easy access to people with disabilities at all levels and up to 800 parking spaces. This property will be located in Paseo de los Manglares and Boulevard de las Naciones, a venue with views of the Pacific.

The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC reported that during the protocol routine of the periodic tests performed on the staff, Raúl Zurutuza, Tournament Director, tested positive for COVID 19, and despite that he isn´t showing any symptoms, he is isolated and receiving preventive medical care.

“This morning my normal routine for the PCR test came back positive; we immediately applied all protocols and I’m already isolated and taking preventive medical care. I feel well and without any major discomfort. I want to thank all the medical team of the Tournament for their attention”, said Zurutuza.

As part of the protocol established by the AMT Safety Program for positive cases, those who had direct contact with Zurutuza were tested for PCR and antigen as a precautionary measure, all of which came back negative.

Out of the 3,445 PCR and Antigen tests that have been performed on players and staff during the Tournament, only 9 staff members have been positive. The strict security and sanitization program, the control of tests and the fulfillment of safety protocols have allowed the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC to be in control of the situation with very favorable results. Health and safety are our number one priority. The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, through its AMT Safety Program, follows all the medical protocols of the national and international health authorities for COVID 19 and has implemented guidelines for players, staff and the public with all social interactions, health and hygiene.

• Alexander Zverev got to the semifinals directly after the Norwegian Casper Ruud retired.
• Stefanos Tsitsipas only needed  two hours to defeat Felix Auger-Aliassime.
• the Italian Lorenzo Musetti keeps defeating his rivales such as Grigor Dimitrov.
• Herbert/Mahut vs Granollers/ Zeballos and Skupski/Skupski vs Ram/Salisbury, the semifinals in the doubles tournament.

The quarterfinals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC began with the German Alexander Zverev (No.7) who immediately got to the semifinals of this edition after his rival. the Norwegian Casper Ruud (No. 25), retired due to an injury.

Ruud was having some discomfort on his right wrist which did not allow him to train well, he felt a constant pain which caused him to retire.

Zverev, second seed of the tournament, will play his third semifinal of the Abierto Mexicano in only four participations. His balance in semifinals it’s one more victory for him against Cameron Norrie in 2019 and a loss against Juan Martin del Potro in 2018.

His rival will be his compatriot Dominik Koepfer (No. 71), who managed to defeat the British Cameron Norrie (No. 61) in an hour forty-nine minutes. It was a pretty even match so getting a break and keeping it became very important. In this case it was Koepfer who managed to win this round for the first time in the year.

 Zverev will seek his second final in the Mexican tournament after the one he achieved back in 2019 where he lost to Nick Kyrgios, while Koepfer will try to reach the first final of his career.

Stefanos Tsitsipas’s (No.5) passion towards the Mexican tournament continues. After only two hours of play, the Greek got his semifinal ticket during his first participation in the tournament.

The best player of this edition had to recover from a bad start where he began the tournament with a 0-2. It was in the seventh game where he managed to recover the break and equaled the score until the twelfth game where he again broke his rival and ended up winning the first set 7-5.

In the second set Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 18) was already winning in the third game, an advantage that he did not lose at any time. His 6-4 on the scoreboard created a third set against the Greek player. Both refused to give up their game in the match, but in the eighth game, Tsitsipas broke his opponent’s serve and finally closed the match and secured his presence in the semifinals against the Italian Lorenzo Musetti.

With only 19 years old, Musetti (No.120) is unstoppable in the tournament and this time he defeated the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (No.16), fifth seed, with a combination of experience, resistance and big hits.

During the 2-hour match, the Italian player (and sensation of the tournament) proved that he knows how to keep a calm mindset at important moments as well as not losing concentration even when he is below the score. The sets for the Italian promise were 6-4, 7-6(3), who will play against Tsitsipas for a ticket to the final.

In the doubles draw, the first seeded, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, had a complicated start that made them go down the first set by 5-7. Supported by a solid serve, they managed to score the second set by 6-2; in the super tie break they defeated the Australians Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith 10-8. His rivals in the semifinals will be the French Pierre Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, this is their first participation in the tournament and they are only one match away from the final after defeating Benoit Paire and the Serbian Laslo Djere 6-4 and 6-1.

The brothers Neal and Ken Skupski needed three sets in order to defeat the champions of 2017 and 2018, the pair formed by Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, by 6-3,3-6,12-10. After defeating the second best-ranked pair of the tournament, the British will play against Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury for the ticket to the final.

Ram and Salisbury defeated the Latin couple formed by the Mexican Santiago González and the Brazilian Marcelo Demoliner 4-6,6-3,10-7.

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.