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

• Stefanos Tsitisipas (No. 5) debuts on Mexican soil against the Frenchman Benoit Paire (No. 29).
• Alexander Zverev (No. 7) will face Carlos Alcaraz (No. 132), who received a WC.
• The Mexican Gerardo López was lucky in the draw sinced he will play for his debut against the German Dominik Koepfer (No. 71).

The first twoo seeds of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 5) and the German Alexander Zverev (No.7), will have great test in their initial match.

Tsitisipas, first seed, will not have an easy way in his first incursion in the AMT. The 22-year-old will put his skills to the test in the first round against the Frenchman Benoit Paire (No. 29) and with whom he has a victory (QF Washington 2019) and a defeat (R32 Metz 2017).

If he wins, in the second round he would play against the winner of the match between the American veteran John Isner (No.26) and the Italian Salvatore Caruso (No.79).

In the same part of the draw, a match that surely stands out is the one between the Croatian Marin Cilic (No. 43), winner of the U.S. Open in 2014, and the young American promise that received a WC, Sebastián Korda (No. 92), 20 years old.

Sebastian, who is former tennis player Petr Korda’s son, was a finalist at Delray Beach ATP 250 and was crowned at the Quimper Challenger earlier this year. Among his multidisciplinary team we can find former world number one Andre Agassi who, until last year, worked with the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (No.17).

Dimitrov, champion back in Acapulco 2014, will play against the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino (No. 36) who he defeated last year in the second round.

The Argentine Diego Schwartzman (No. 9) who returns from a magnificent Latin American tour where he managed to conquer the title of the Buenos Aires Open, his hometown, in the first round he will face one of the four players that access the main draw from the qualifying tournament.

Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev (No. 7), second seed, will play against the young Spaniard Carlos Alcaráz (No. 132), 17 years old, in the first round.

After reaching the quarterfinals in the Australian Open, Zverev travelled to the ATP 500 in Rotterdam where he lost in the first round. The German, 23, was one of the first tennis players to arrive to Acapulco and he was accompanied by his brother Mischa and his nephew.

His rival, Alcaráz, received one of the WC and with only 17 years old, he will be the youngest player of the 2021 edition. The Spanish promise had a good swing in Australia where he reached the third round in Melbourne ATP 250, and from the qualification round, he reached the second round of the Australian Open.

The clash between the Italians Fabio Fognini (No. 18), sixth seed, and Stefano Travaglia (No. 65) is another great match. Fognini, who returns to Acapulco for the first time since he reached the semifinals in 2013, has a loosing record 0-2 against the player Travaglia.

The Mexican Gerardo López Villaseñor (No. 561), who plays for the third consecutive year, will try to reach the second round for the first time as soon as he faces the German Dominik Koepfer (No.71). The Mexican, 25, comes from winning his two singles matches in the Davis Cup against the Bulgarian players who had a better ranking.

If he gets to the second round, the Mexican will have a very hard test against the winner of the match between the American Tommy Paul (No. 51) and the Canadian Milos Raonic (No. 15), fourth seeded, who after several attempts, will play for the first time in Acapulco.

• This Saturday, March 13th, the tournament begins in the Princess Mundo Imperial Hotel’s courts with the first round of qualifications.

• The doors will open to the public one hour before the start of the first game. On Saturday the match starts at 16:30 hours, Sunday will be at 18:00 hours.
• According to the AMT Safety protocol, no one will be allowed to take photos or request autographs from the players.

Acapulco, March 12th. – To begin the celebration of its 28th edition, The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC will offer a weekend full of great matches in the qualifying round, all thanks to the combination of veteran players and young promises from the new generation, who will seek access to the main draw.

Among the list of 32 players looking for one of the four available tickets, we have the German Mischa Zverev (No. 280) and the American Steve Johnson (No. 83).

The Bosnian Damir Dzumhur (No. 185) and the Taipeian Jason Jung (No.148) return to the courts in Acapulco looking to repeat what they achieved back in 2020 when they got their ticket on the qualifying stage and settled among the tournament’s best 32 players.

More names of young people are the American Brandon Nakashima (No. 145), the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (No. 119) and the Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild (No. 124), who are among the twenty best players of the Next Gen.

The Mexican players who will be in the qualifying round this year are Luis Patiño (No. 425), Alejandro Hernández (No. 744) and Rodrigo Pacheco. This last player is only 15 years old and already has a very high tennis level in the junior circuit of the ITF, where he currently is number 80 in the ranking. All of them will try to reach the main draw and accompany Gerardo López Villaseñor, key player in last week’s victory of the Mexican Davis Cup team in the match against Bulgaria.

The Spaniard Marcel Granollers (No. 188) and the French Pierre-Hugues Herbert (No. 90), who will be at the main doubles draw, will play this round with the intention to continue to score points in the ATP Tour singles ranking.

The Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis (No. 241), who maintains a special relationship with the Mexican public due to his previous appearances in Acapulco and los Cabos, will be present in this round with the goal of being in the main draw for the third time in his career. Fellow countryman Luke Saville (No. 382) will also be looking for one of the four tickets of the main draw.

Other tennis players, such as the Colombian Daniel Elahi Galán (No. 121), or the Serbian Danilo Petrovic (No. 159), the American Denis Kudla (No. 123) or the German Dominik Koepfer (No.71), also stand out among players who will play in the first qualifying round before the start of the AMT 2021.

The price to enjoy these matches will be $150.00 MXN per person each day.

These are the schedules of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC

The qualification round will start on Saturday at 16:30 hrs. and on Sunday the matches will start at 18:00 hrs. The doors will open to the public one hour before the start of the first game.

During the tournament week, the matches will start at 18:00 hrs., however, the final matches on Saturday will start at 19:00 hrs. The doors will also open one hour earlier.

As the tournament’s organization, we encourage fans to plan ahead before their arrival. According to the AMT Safety protocol established together with the State of Guerrero’s health authorities, we remind you that you must bring a negative antigen test with no more than 72 hours old.

AMT Safety, the protocol that protects us all

This edition will be different, so we ask you to please follow all the instructions and recommendations from our staff to take care of each other and be a worldwide example.

In order to reduce the possibility of contagion among those involved in the tournament, including staff, players, and the public, we have worked hard with the Guerrero’s authorities to launch the AMT Safety, a sanitary protocol to take care of each other.

We know that the proximity of the players to the Mexican public is one of our added values, but the world’s situation forces us to avoid these types of interaction therefore It will not be allowed to take photos or request autographs from the players present in this XXVIII edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. From the tournament’s management, we have made a great effort to bring many of the best players in the world and it is very important that we respect the sanitary protocol created and applied during the tournament, as well as the players who will participate in it.

Acapulco will have 11 of the currently 30 best doubles players

A week before the start of the XXVIII edition of the Abierto Méxicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, there was an announcement withthe list of the couples that will form the main draw doubles in 2021.

In this list one can find 11 of the best 30 doubles players, as well as three pairs in the ATP Top 8.

The duo formed by Argentine Horacio Zeballos (4) and the Spaniard Marcel Granollers (13), will be thetop seeded couple. They come to Acapulco with their goal to continue with their victories just like they did back in 2020, where they won three titles played on clay (Rome, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires), and were semifinalists in the Nitto ATP finals.

Last year they played in the Abierto de Acapulco and were defeated in the round of 16 against the French Adrian Manarino y Fabrice Martin.

Bruno Soares, #6, and the British Jamie Murray, #18, return to Acapulco with the intention of winning their third trophy.

They won 2 titles in the Mexican tournament back in 2017 and 2018, the second of which they defeated the Bryan brothers in a grand finale remembered by many. This couple is 4th in the Nitto Finals race to celebrate in Turin at the end of 2021.

Meanwhile, the duo formed by the British Joe Salisbury and the American Rajeev Ram, third in the Nitto Final’s race, visit Acapulco for the first time. They are seeking to reaffirm the great tennis level that led them to their second Australian Open Final in a row, where this year they were defeated by the Slovakian Polãšek and the Croatian Dodig, therefore, they were unable to revalidate their Champions’ title of 2020.

Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Pierre Hugues Herbert, who were crowned masters in 2019, will also be at this edition of the Mexican ATP 500. Both are making their first appearance as a couple in this tournament and they come to Acapulco with the trophies of the four Grand Slams (US Open 2015, Wimbledon 2016, Roland Garros 2018, and the Australian Open in 2019). The Mexican flag will be in the main draw, with the best player of the moment, Santiago González who will compete next to the Brazilian Marcelo Demoliner. The Spaniards Feliciano López and Marc López will also be part of the main draw.

The Zverev brothers, champions in 2019, will look for a place in the main draw in the qualifications round.

Mischa Zverev, Alejandro Hernández, Thanasi Kokkinakis y Petros Tsitsipas present in the qualifications round

This Saturday, March 13th, begins the qualifications round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, where several players will seek one of the places that gives access to the tournament’s main draw and try to emulate what Cerundolo achieved two weeks ago in Córdoba (Argentina).

Old acquaintance of the Mexican fans, such as the Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, returns to the tournament after his last participation in 2018, or like the German Mischa Zverev, who is looking to obtain his pass to the tournament’s main draw in his 5th consecutive participation.

The Mexican public will also be able to see the Greek Petro Tsitsipás, Stefanos’s brother, who, with only 20 years old, will look for the way to play in the main draw of the ATP 500 for the first time in his career.

The Mexicans will not be absent in this round. Young Juan Alejandro Hernández, 21 years old, will play in the qualifications round, just like Luis Patiño.

The Americans Brando Nakashima or Emilio Nava will also be present in the qualifying round.

Gerardo López Villaseñor, who was the hero of the World Group II eliminations round against Bulgaria in the Davis Cup, received a wild card to participate in Acapulco’s main draw for the third year in a row.

Puerto Vallarta’s player, 25 years old, managed to beat the local Dimitar Kuzmanov in a match that lasted more than three hours and drove them to exhaustion in order to place the final 1-3 after overcoming two tie-breaks.

After Mexico’s victory in Bulgaria, the Mexican team will have to continue fighting for a spot in the World Group I for 2022.

Stefanos Tsitsipás climbs to 5th place in the ATP ranking

The Greek Stefanos Tsitipás,first seed of this tournament’s edition, managed to reach 5th place in the ATP, after making it to the semifinals in the ABN AMOR World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam last week.

With this new ranking, the winner of the Next Gen ATP Finals of 2018, manages to equalize his best position on the ranking (August 2019).

Meanwhile the Swiss Roger Federer, who returns to play in Dubai after recovering from an injury, was backed down to #6 in the ranking.

This is the only change registered in the ranking of the Top 20 in the world. The Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, who will be in Acapulco, rose to 38th place, this being his best ranking after falling in semifinals in the Argentine Open, in Buenos Aires, against the local Diego Schwartzman.

The Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo rose 25 places to rank #112 in the world after reaching the tournament’s final in Buenos Aires, where he could not emulate his brother Juan Manuel, losing against his countryman Diego Schwartzman, who won his fourth professional title and will be present at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

AMT Safety, the protocol that takes care of us all

Our goal is to take care of each other and enjoy the XXVIII edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, therefore, we created the AMT Safety program, which is focused on preventing contagion and to protect us.

This program was created alongside the State of Guerrero’s authorities and its compliance is mandatory in order to enjoy the experience of the tournament.

Below, you will find everything you need to know about this program.

1. Before entering the tournament facilities, you must have and present a negative result of an Antigen test valid no longer than 72 hours. This test must be endorsed by COFEPRIS.
2. Temperature check-up and antibacterial gel will be provided before giving access to anyone with their tickets.
3. Mandatory use of face masks at all times.
4. Keep a healthy distance.
5. Throughout the tournament you will find antibacterial gel dispensers so anyone can disinfect their hands frequently.
6. In the food area, remember to avoid crowds without exceeding the number allowed per table and to wash your hands.
7. Respect and follow all indications given by the tournament staff as well as all signs placed on the premises.

By following the AMT Safety protocol: you take care of yourself, we all take care of ourselves. For more information, please visit: https://abiertomexicanodetenis.com/amt-safety/

• Guerrero’s local authorities confirm the public presence in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.
• All tournament attendees must present a negative COVID-19 antigen test
• The ticket sales for the Tournament continues

Mexico, March 2^nd, 2021.- After the announcement that Acapulco changed to a code yellow for COVID, Guerrero’s State Governor, Héctor Astudillo Flores, held a meeting yesterday with the Director of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, Raúl Zurutuza, where he confirmed the presence of public in the Tournament and allowed to continue with ticket sales to offer the Mexican public the possibility of enjoying the most important tennis event in Latin America.

Following the guidelines established by the local authorities to respect and maintain the current code achieved by the State and the people of Guerrero, all fans attending the Tournament must have a negative COVID-19 antigen test done in a laboratory, hospital or pharmacy. This test should not be more than 72 hours old. If this requirement is not met, the fans will not be allowed to enter the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.      

“It is everyone’s responsibility, organizers, players, sponsors, and fans, to take care of each other and be an example of respect to all health standards established by the authorities,” said the Tournament director.

Due to the sanitary contingency caused by COVID-19, the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC created a security program which will make sure all planning, procedures and execution of all safety measures and protocol are followed in order to guarantee and safeguard the health for all fans, staff, and players within the tournament.

Tickets for the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC are still on sale and can be purchased directly at the Mextenis box office, located in Arcos Bosques, or through the ticketmaster.com.mx platform.

BOX OFFICE PHONE NUMBERS

From Mexico: 55 2167 3232, 55 2167 3055 ó 800 890 8906

From outside the country: + 52 55 2167 3232 ó + 52 55 2167 3055

For more information, please visit our website at www.abiertomexicanodetenis.com

World’s number one, Novak Djokovic, retained his crown as the Australian Open champion after defeating Danil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2 and 6-2.

The Serbian needed just one hour and fifty-three minutes to achieve his ninth title in Melbourne Park, this reaffirms his dominance in this tournament by being the greatest winner in history.

With this triumph, he achieved his eighteenth Grand Slam and he is just one step behind Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, whom, with 20, are the top major winners of all time.

In order to reach the final and beat Medvedev (ATP #3), Djokovic had to defeat three players who will be present in the XXVIII Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

In the second round, he needed four sets to get rid of the American Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(2) and 6-3. He won against the Canadian Milos Raonic in the round of 16, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1 and 6-4. In the quarterfinal he played against the German Alexander Zverev, second seed of the Abierto Mexicano. This was a match in which there was moments of real tension, where Nole closed the match by winning the fourth set tie-breaker against ATP #3, 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-4, and 7-6(6).

Medvedev, who is going through a great moment and reached the final with 20 consecutive victories, defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas by 6-4, 6-2, 7-5.

The Greek and first seed of this edition of the Acapulco’s Port tournament, starred in perhaps the best match of the tournament with a two-set comeback disadvantage against Rafael Nadal, number 2 in the world and current champion of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

In the women’s side, the Japanese Naomi Osaka won for the second time the Australian Grand Slam by defeating the American Jennifer Brady in the final by 6-4, 6-3. The 23-year-old player, WTA #3, maintains her perfect pace in Grand Slams, winning all four that she has competed throughout her career.

The Mexican Guiliana Olmos reached the quarterfinals in the doubles category with the Canadian Sharon Fichman, where they lost against the two finalists: the Czech Krejcikova and Siniakova.

Cordoba, Singapur and Montpellier, this week’s events

This week there will be three ATP 250 tournaments around the world, 9 of the players that will be present in Acapulco will play some of them.

Six players that will be present in the next edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC will be playing in the Cordoba Open in Argentina. The locals, Diego Schwartzman and Guido Pella together with the French Benoit Paire and the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, will be the four top ranked players.

The four of them will play in the second round of this tournament. Schwartzman will face the winner of the clash between Hugo Dellien vs. Marco Cecchinato. Pella will face the winner of Elahi Galan and Kovalik. Miomir Kecmanovic expects a rival that will come from the match between a qualifier and the Brazilian Seyboth Wild. Paire will have to play against the local Nico Jarry or the Spaniard Jaume Munar.

The Serbian Laslo Djere and the Spaniard Pablo Andujar will be competing in this tournament as well.

In the Singapore Tennis Open, the French Adrian Mannarino and the Croatian Marin Cilic (both are the top ranked players of this tournament) will playand will also make their debut in the second round.

The Frenchman will start his participation against the winner between the Latvian Ernests Gulbis and the italian Roberto Marco. Cilic will wait for his rival between the Japanese Taro Daniel and the Hindu Ramkumar Ramanathan. Mannarino and Cilic would only face each other in a hypothetical final.

In the last ATP 250 which will be played this week in Montpellier (France), the American Sebastian Korda, who received one of the wildcards from the tournament, will be playing and looking for his second-round pass against local Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, who was ATP number 5 in 2012.

The other wildcard awarded by the organization, the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, was defeated in the qualification round against the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.

Danil Medvedev became ATP Top 3 after his final in the Australian Open

The Russian Danil Medvedev became ATP Top 3 tennis player thanks to the 1020 points obtained by reaching the Australian Open’s final, replacing the Austrian Dominic Thiem. This being his best professional ranking.

The Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and the Norwegian Casper Rudd respectivelymoved up four places to 17^th and 24^th. This new ranking is the best in Rudd’s career.

Russia’s Aslan Karatev registered the highest increase in this week’s ranking in the ATP, who after losing against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open’s semifinals, moved up 72 places in order to rank as number 42, surpassing his best professional ranking in which he was 111. Other top climbers this week in the ATP ranking were starred by old acquaintances of the Mexican fans. Feliciano López, who moved up eight places to be 57^th in the world, the Romanian Radu Albot who went from 85 to now 76 after reaching the third round in the Australian Open where he defeated the Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round. South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon moved up 16 places in the ranking and he is now ATP 81.

• The Greek Stefanos Tsisipas, number 6 in the world, will make his debut.
• Germany’s Alexander Zverev (ranked number 7) and Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman (number 9) will playfor the fourth time in Acapulco.
• American tennis’s great promise, Sebatian Korda, will get a wildcard for the main singles draw.

Mexico City.- The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC announces the list of all players that will participate in the Tournament’s XXVIII edition, in which 3 ATP’s Top Ten players stand out.

The 22-year-old Greek, Stefanos Tsitsipas, current number 6 in the ATP ranking and ATP Finals champion in 2019; together with the 23-year-old German Alexander Zverev, number 7 in the world and thirteen-time ATP Tour champion, will be the AMT 2021 top ranked player.

“For us, as a tournament, we are proud to announce the presence of two of the last three ATP masters, we thank Alexander and Stefanos for their decision to come play in Mexico in this edition and we are sure the Mexican public will enjoy their presence”, said Raúl Zurutuza, Director of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

This will be the fourth time that Zverev participates in Acapulco’s ATP 500, looking to repeat 2019’s final where he lost against the Australian Nick Kyrgios. On another note, Tsitsipas, semifinalist at Roland Garros, will appear in front of the Mexican fans for the first time.

The best ranked of Latin tennis today, Diego Schwartzman (9), is the third Top Ten player present in this edition. The 28-year-old Argentine climbed to the tennis elite thanks to his performances in Rome and Roland Garros, where he respectively made the final and semifinal. The “Peque” who already knows what winning in Mexican lands means (Los Cabos 2019), will pursue the championship in this, his fourth participation in the AMT.