Acapulco, Gro., February 28, 2020.- While Renata is making history for mexican tennis, Patricio, Renata’s brother and coach, is one of the people responsible for the “Renata-mania” here at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, presentado por HSBC.

In order to participate in the XXVII edition of the tournament, Zarazua (22 years old) needed a wild card, because her ranking is 270-WTP did not allow her to access the main draw directly.

After the draw ceremony, things did not look good for Renata, she had to play against the favorite, Sloane Stephens (first seed, former #3-WTA in 2019, and 35 current ranking, former champion in Acapulco 2016, US Open monarch in 2017, runner-up for Roland Garros and the WTA Finals 2018), in the first round. Her chances to win were almost none.

However, Renata played the best match in her life and to everyone’s surprise, she eliminated Stephens. During the game, the mexican player was assisted by a young man, whom we didn’t know much of, Patricio, her older brother who joined the team at the end of last year.

“In November, my sister and I had a talk alone where we made tough decisions, things that I felt we had to change in order to get to bigger things. We formed a great team, I support her in the tournaments by traveling, also in the emotional part because, although I’m her coach, I’m her brother first. I will always want the best for her as a person and as a player, she has a lot of confidence, we’ve always been very close. Renata’s physical trainer is Carlos Aranda, who has a lot of experience and has trained players with a very good level. Her main tennis coach is Hugo Armando, who is a former top 100 professional tennis player from Argentina, he has been of great help for everything that is going on”, says 24-year-old Patricio, a graduate of Business Management at Palm Beach Atlantic.

For Patricio, the psychological aspect, a topic that has been highly criticized in the mexican athletes so they can succeed in sports, is of the highest importance for their development and the results.

“I think the mental part, especially in young girls, is to understand how they are mentally, how they are as a person and see the things that they need in order to understand their game. My sister has a strong character, but that’s a good thing since she uses it in a positive way in matches when she has to fight for the win. She is very mentally strong; she is the type of person that works hard for what she wants. To say in another way, it has its advantages and disadvantages, like we work on her forehand or her backhand, we also need to work on her character so when she steps up to the court, it’s the ideal one.”

“My job is to make her understand that things won’t always go her way in matches. At important and key moments, I try to make her feel supported and keep her calm. I’m very proud of her, we’ve worked together for many years, with this new team we have set ourselves for big goals, and she is giving us results”.

Renata and Patricio belong to a family with a long history in tennis, led by the former David Cup Player from Mexico, Vicente Zarazua.

“Vicente Zarazua is my great-uncle, he started the love for tennis in the family. After him, my grandfather was a tennis player as well with a very high level, then came my father, who played tennis as a child and decided to go to a university to keep playing. My parents’ support for Renata’s career was key because they knew what it takes to get to things like this.”

“I started playing tennis as a kid and I decided to go to a university in the United States to play tennis for four years. I’m very satisfied with what I did in my life, it was a very fun experience, but I knew that I wanted to dedicate my work to my sister since she had the qualities it takes for something big. Now I know that this is what I want to do, some say that you have to follow your instincts, and I knew that’s what I had to do so my sister could succeed”.

The limits do not exist for Renata in this sport, the road is traced, the objectives are clear, and she has her eyes on them. She already made history at the Abierto Mexicano, she is part of the National Federation Cup team that is looking for a place in the World Group, but tennis is lived one day at a time.

“The match against Stephens was the best triumph in her career so far, but we always try to focus one match at a time. It was obviously a great victory in the first round and the next two rounds, it’s okay to enjoy it, but we must remember that we won’t stop there, and we keep her focused in her next match”, said Patricio. The next match in the search for the pass to the grand final will be against the canadian Leylah Fernandez.

Acapulco, Gro., February 28, 2020.- One of the semifinals at the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telcel, presentado HSBC, will be played by two former champions of Acapulco. This evening, the spaniard Rafael Nadal (former champion in 2005 and 2013) and the bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (former champion in 2014) will face each other, and only one of them will get his pass to the final.
The other semifinal will be between the americans John Isner and Taylor Fritz. This is Isner’s second semifinal round in a row, while this is Fritz first appearance in this phase.
The Spaniard is the favorite against the bulgarian, since he has a mark of 12-2 against him. Dimitrov´s only triumph was in 2016 in Beijing. His record in Acapulco is 18-2. On his way to the semifinal, he has allowed his rivals to win 15 games. “We know each other well, I think I know how he´s going to play and vice versa”, Nadal said in regards of the match against Dimitrov.
The Spaniard´s road to the final has been smooth. He has won matches against Pablo Andujar, Miomir Kecmanovic and Soonwoo Kwon. Dimitrov´s road has been the opposite since in the second round he managed to save two match points against Adrian Mannarino, so he could eliminate Stan Wawrinka later.
So far in the tournament, Nadal has the best percentage of serves returned, with 14 out of 25 (56%), and has 14 out of 22 break points won (64%).
In the other match, Isner (who leads the category aces) will face his countryman Taylor Fritz. This will be their fourth “head-to-head” between them, with a favorable record for Isner (2-1).
The four players of the semifinals are looking for the first title of the season.

This Friday he will face Grigor Dimitrov

Acapulco, Gro., February 27, 2020.- 15 Years ago, today, Rafael Nadal won for the first time the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, presentado por HSBC. The spaniard reached the semifinals of the 27th edition with a commanding victory over the corean Soonwoo Kwon.

Nadal (#2 in the world and first seed) needed just one hour and a half to get his 18th victory in Acapulco so he could place himself one victory away of his 4th final. Rafa won by 6-2 and 6-1 in what it was his first ever match against the asian player.

The spaniard, who feels very comfortable in the court at the Mextenis stadium, was able to break Soonwoo Kwon’s serve in two occasions during the first set and two more in the second set to take the match with ease. The corean, regardless of having 8 opportunities to break Nadal’s serve, was unable to take advantage of them. Nadal won 75% of the points with his first serve and only 64% with his second serve.

Kwon (22 years old and #76) couldn’t get through the quarterfinals for the fourth time this season. He was eliminated on the tournaments: Pune, New York, Delray Beach, and now Acapulco.

This coming Friday, in semifinals, Nadal will face the bulgarian Dimitrov (#22-ATP), who he has played on 13 prior occasions with 12 victories and just one defeat. The last time they played, Nadal won in the Masters 1000 of Montecarlo 2019, in two sets and on a clay court.

“A lot of things have happened in the last matches, each year is a different story, he is arriving with positive attitude because he has won great matches; yesterday he won a very tough match that had match points against him, today he played a very serious match against one of the best in the world, which took him to semifinals. It’s going to be a tough match just like it has to be a game of semifinals in a tournament like this. It’s going to be a nice game to play and to fight it. Today I felt good, every day I feel better, I hope I’m prepared so tomorrow I can play a good match to reach the final”, said Nadal about the match between former champions of the AMT that he will have against Dimitrov, who won the tournament back in 2014.

Acapulco, Gro., February 27, 2020.- It was a great night for Mexico. After the historical pass to the semifinals by Renata Zarazua in the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telcel, presentado por HSBC, the other mexican player, Giuliana Olmos, advanced in the doubles tournament with her partner Desirae Krawczyk.

Olmos and Krawczyk, second seeds, defeated the dutch Arantxa Rus and the slovenian Tamara Zindasek 6-3, 1-6, and 10-3. Zindasek takes a bad experience playing against the Mexicans since she was eliminated hours before by Zarazua.

In 1:07 hours of play, Olmos and her partner took another step to match their last year’s performance when they reached the final, whom eventually lost to Victoria Azarenka y Saisai Zheng.

The couple they will face in the semifinal are the american Caroline Dolehide and the australian Astra Sharman, they advanced after the Italian, Sara Errani, and the chilean, Daniela Seguel, retired when they were down 1-4 in the first set.

The other semifinal will be played by the australian couple, Ellen Pérez and Storm Sanders (#3) against the ukranian Kateryna Bondarenko and the canadian Sharon Fichman. The australians defeated the japanese Nao Hibino and the birtish Heather Watson 6-3, 5-7, and 10-7. Meanwhile, Bondarenko and Fichman defeated Sabrina Santamaria and Nina Stojanovic 7-6 (5) y 6-2.

The mexican achieved a historic pass to the semifinals

Acapulco, Gro., February 27, 2020.- On Thursday, Renata Zarazua marked a huge milestone in the Mexico’s women’s tennis history and became the first tennis player to reach the semifinals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, presentado por HSBC.

Once again, the Grand Stand Caliente was crowded with people who wholeheartedly supported the mexican player. The game started with great intensity, and she managed to break her rival’s serve in the very first game. There was another break in the seventh game which ensured the lead and the set.

The second set seemed to be the same as the first one until Zindasek (74-WTA) was able to break the mexican’s serve in two occasions, this evened out the score. In the third and definite set, Zarazua was determined to take it all, and in the sixth game, the mexican put Tamara in trouble with a break, which meant the end of the match.

“I was determined to win the third set; I’ve lost a lot of matches because I was not confident enough to seal the victory, so this helped me remind myself that no matter what happens, I have to give my everything and took one point at a time. The last game was mentally hard, it was hard to control my nerves and the pressure. In match point, I was very nervous, I’m not sure how the ball went over, but it did”, said Renata, who is also the niece-granddaughter of the mexican tennis legend: Vicente Zarazua.

During, and at the end of the match as well, one could hear the song “Cielito Lindo” throughout the stadium. The fans did not hide their excitement for the historical event. Renata surpassed Melisa Torres, who reached the quarterfinals back in 2007, but lost against the german Julia Schruff, who took away Melisa’s dream.

In addition, Zarazua has already equaled Oliver Fernandez, Mexico’s only tennis player (man or woman), to reach the semifinals in this tournament, as he did in 1993 (AMT’s first edition).

“The people helped me a lot, I was a little tired today, but as soon as I entered the stadium, I could feel the energy. After that, I completely forgot about being tired, it didn’t even cross my mind and it was all thanks to them. I do not know if I could’ve won this anywhere else, I am very grateful. I don’t know how they did it, but their energy have a lot of merit in this victory”, said Renata, who took revenge on Tamara Zindasek (she defeated Renata a couple of years ago in her first round of Roland Garros).

In the semifinals of the Abierto Mexicano, Renata Zarazua’s rival will be the canadian 17-year-old Leylah Fernandez, who in the last quarterfinals surpassed the Russian Anastasia Potapova 6-3 and 7-5. Fernandez, filipino-ecuadorian origin, is the junior former champion of Roland Garros 2019 and runner-up of the Australian Open Jr. 2019 tournament. This will not be an easy match for the mexican.
If Renata wins, she will also overcome Angelica Gavaldon’s achievement, who is the only mexican semifinalist in a WTA event back in 1993 during the San Juan tournament.

The british Heather Watson moved on to the semifinals in the women’s tournament

Acapulco, Gro., February 27, 2020.- Taylor Fritz became the second American with a pass to the semifinals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, presentado por HSBC, he got a valuable triumph against the british Kyle Edmund in straight sets.

This ensures the participation of an american player in the grand finale this coming Saturday.

Fritz broke three times on the first set which made all the difference. The californian once again broke Edmund’s serve twice on the second set, this was enough to win the semifinalist ticket. This also surpassed his best performance in Acapulco, where he made it to the quarterfinals in 2016.

Fritz, 22 years old and #35 in the world, got his second triumph against Edmund in direct duels (Last year he won in the semifinals in the Eastbourne tournament).

Isner and Fritz have faced each other three times in their careers. Isner has a 2-1 lead, but Fritz won the last match in Auckland, New Zealand (2019).

In the woman’s tournament, the british Heather Watson, seventh seed, got her ticket to the semifinals after defeating the american Christina McHale. The match ended 6-3, 1-6, and 6-1 in one hour and 52 minutes.

Watson (69-WTA) was on top of her game with her serve. She managed to connect 6 aces against 2 of her rival’s, however she also committed 5 double faults against 3 of McHale, finalist in the Abierto Mexicano (2016).

It was Watson’s second victory over McHale in four matches, and also her revenge against the american since she defeated Watson four years ago.

Watson’s rival in the semifinals will be China’s Xiyu Wang, #127 in the WTA and who is coming from the qualy. This will be the first encounter between these 2 players in the women’s professional tour.

Acapulco, Gro., February 27, 2020. John Isner had a tough match against his countryman Tommy Paul, but he was able to win the match after almost two hours. This is his second consecutive year in the semifinals in the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telcel, presentado por HSBC.

Since Yoshihito Nishioka in 2017, Paul, first player coming from the qualys to reach the quarterfinals, amazed everyone on Wednesday when he defeated Alexander Zverev; this was his first victory against a top ten.

Isner, fifth seed, won the match 7-6 (3), 3-6 and 6-2 in an encounter in which he finished with 22 aces.

“I’m happy to be back in the semifinals, I won in three sets today and whoever is my next rival will be tough. I feel better with each game, the third set was perhaps the best tennis I have played this year and that gives me confidence”, said Isner.

Paul, who lost against Isner at the Cincinnati Masters in 2017, made three straight aces. The 22-year-old looked confident when he served, but Isner got his first opportunity to break in the sixth game, but he couldn’t do it.

Each of them kept their serves in the following games, then it was time for a tiebreak in which Isner used his best weapon, his powerful serve, so he could get ahead in the game.

On the second set, Isner had his first opportunity to break Paul’s serve with a straight return, but Paul saved his game. Right after the next game, Isner got into trouble when his best weapon failed him, committing a double fault that gave Paul a break, who did not miss it. The break was enough to keep the set.

Paul’s (#66-ATP) confidence seemed to increase, but Isner took it all away by breaking Paul’s serve in the sixth game and in the eighth game to end the match.

Isner broke the losing streak he had in Acapulco, in four previous participations he lost in the first round.

On the woman’s tournament, in a chinese duel, Xiju Wand, player from the qualy, eliminated Lin Zhu 6-2, 6-2 and moved forward to the semifinals. This is the best result of the season so far for the Asian (#127-ATP). Last week she got to the quarterfinals in Thailand. Wang has five wins in a row in Acapulco, including the qualy.

Acapulco, Gro., February 26, 2020.- Renata Zarazua, with another sensational performance, has the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, presentado por HSBC, crazy about her. She moves on to the quarterfinals, matching her countrywoman, Melisa Torres, performance in 2007.

With the Grand Stand Caliente at its full capacity, which proved insufficient for the fans who wanted to see the mexican player, Renata Zarazua did not disappoint and based on her relentless style, came from behind to beat the american Katie Volynets (384 player in the world) 4-6, 7-5, and 6-0. Both of them got into the main draw with a wild card.

Volynets, 18 years old, dominated the first set breaking Zarazua’s serve. Now up a set, the north american continued to play well and got up to 4-2 in the second. Volynets took advantage of the mexican’s lack of control, who was not in her best shape since she requested medical assistance for cramps and discomfort in her right arm during the set.

Patricio Zarazua, who is Renata’s brother and current coach, did not let her get discouraged. With a lot of dedication and heart, the national player had a spectacular comeback cheered by the public that got into Volynets’s head, who forfeited the set with three consecutive double faults.

The third set was one-sided with Renata becoming more and more confident while her opponent couldn’t get her rhythm. With three more breaks, the last of those, with some double faults, sealed the victory for the mexican.

“It was a very difficult game since my right arm was cramping during the second set, but the support of the people motivated me to ignore it and keep going so I could win. She was playing very well, and I couldn’t find a way to make myself feel good, I was a little nervous. I was still excited from yesterday and I had a hard time changing my state of mind for today. However, I knew how to control myself, I wanted to save as much energy as possible and I’m super happy and thankful for everything that happened. I’m living a dream and I want to continue; I don’t want to be satisfied with this result, I can only think about the next round”, Zarazua stated.

In the quarterfinals, Renata will have to face the slovenian Tamara Zidansek in pursuit of her historical pass to the semifinals. In the slovenians’ duel, Zidansek had no problem beating her countrywoman, Kaja Juvan (Youth Olympic Champion in Buenos Aires 2018) 6-2 and 6-2. Juvan had eliminated the legendary Venus Williams one day before.

In another match, the italian’s dream, Sara Errani, ended as she got eliminated by losing in three sets against the chinese Xiyu Wang, 7-5, 6-7 (3), and 6-1. Errani, 185 of the WTA and the one who dominated the Abierto Mexicano in 2012 and 2013, suffered a lot with the intense heat and she couldn’t keep up with the youth of the chinese, in a confrontation of tennis players who came from the qualifying round.

In other news, Heather Watson from Great Britain (seventh seed) defeated the ukranian Kateryna Bondarenko by sets 7-6 (2) and 6-2.

The Chinese Lin Zhu (sixth seed) overcame a very difficult game against the british Katie Boulter, who was defeated by 7-6 (2) and 7-5.

The next big player is the young canadian Leylah Fernandez, who won her second match of the draw after playing the qualy, who left out the eighth seed, Nao Hibino, with a score of 6-3 and 6-0. Anastasia Potapova had an easy win against the german Tatjana Maria by double 6-3 to move on to the quarterfinal round.

Acapulco, Gro., February 26, 2020.- Rafael Nadal keeps amazing the crowds at the 27th edition at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, presentado por HSBC, and with his tenth win of the season, he got himself into the quarterfinals by defeating the serbian Miomir Kecmanovic (50-ATP).

Playing with a lot of intensity, the spaniard won by 6-2 and 7-5 to a rival who is 13 years younger than him, this was their first encounter. The match got one-sided form the beginning when Nadal broke the serbian in two occasions.

The second set was very even with an exchange of breaks. The spaniard had the chance to close the match at 5-3 and his serve, but he couldn’t do it and the match lasted a little bit more. It was Nadal’s 17th win in Acapulco with only two defeats. In quarterfinals, the number 2 player in the world will meet against the surprising corean Soonwoo Kwon, who already took out a seeded player, the serbian Dusan Lajovic (eighth seed).

“I played a great first set and the start of the second set was also good; it had a special value because in front of me I had a player with a great level, the reality is that he also started playing much better; I didn’t take the advantage at 5-3 serving for the match, but everything else was pretty good”, said Nadal, who also gave his opinion about the new Acapulco complex to be opened next year, if it can be a Masters 1000.

“I don’t want to disappoint you, but I want to be realistic, that is very hard because all Masters 1000 are well established and I don’t know which one of them is going to give it up to Acapulco. I would love to see Latin American get a Masters 1000, and I would love to help make that happen, but we don’t have to mislead anyone and it’s very complicated. Acapulco has a fantastic 500 tournament, it has been named the best one for several years, players want to come here. It’s a very special tournament because of many factors, but Mexico has to be very satisfied for having a tournament like this; it is true that everybody wants more, but acquiring one is very complicated, they are not cheap”, he said.

In other news, the swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, third seed, played for an hour and a half to win his second match of the week in Acapulco. “Stan the man” defeated the spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-4 6-4 and put his name in the quarterfinals.

With a high percentage of points won with his first serve (90%), including 9 aces, Wawrinka stood his ground against the 22-year-old young Spaniard. In total, Stanislas, who is the 16th ranked player in the world, broke his rival’s serve in four occasions.

In the round of quarterfinals, Wawrinka will look for his pass to the semifinals when he faces a very attractive match against the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, to whom he has played 11 times before with 7 victories and 4 defeats (the last 5 wins have been consecutive).

Acapulco, Gro., February 26, 2020.- Tommy Paul scored a great victory in his career. The American, coming from the “qualy”, defeated the german Alexander Zverev (7-ATP), second favorite of the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telcel, presentado por HSBC, by 6-3 and 6-4.

The finalist in Acapulco in 2019, left the court (in the Mextenis stadium) annoyed since he was not able to connect his first serves, this was an important factor for his defeat. With his second serves, he only won 11 out of 27 points. In the first three games he accumulated four double faults (a total of 9 in the match).

“It just didn’t work”, the german said in reference to his serve. “When I play like this, it is not hard to defeat me. It wasn’t going up to the to the net, it wasn’t my backhand, it was my serve… a shot that didn’t work”, he added.

Zverev, who has repeatedly commented on how much he enjoys playing in Acapulco, regretted not being consistent with his serves, which made him lose the set against Tommy Paul. Paul is a player from the qualifying round, and he is participating for the second time here in Acapulco (he lost in the first round in 2016).

In the second set, the german had more regularity but Paul did not give up, both maintained their serves in the first seven games.

Doing his serve, Paul dominated the actions, moving Zverev from side to side with high shots that were impossible to reach.

In the ninth game of the second set, the American got his first break opportunity, with a quick return from Alexander, who barely returned the serve but sent it out. The opportunity was capitalized by Paul, who then served for the match.

“I think this was a good day for my returns, it’s a big win and I hope to keep playing well this week”, he said after his win.

Now Paul will go up against his countryman John Isner (fifth seed), who had no trouble eliminating Marcos Giron 6-3 and 7-6 (4). Isner will seek his pass to the semifinals for the second consecutive year in the Acapulco tournament.