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Favorites seek quarterfinals

Written by Abierto Mexicano de Tenis on . Posted in News.

  • Ruud, Fritz, Rune and Tiafoe will try to make it into the top eight.

Acapulco, February 28th – Norwegian, Casper Ruud (No. 2), American Taylor Fritz (No. 3), Dane Holger Rune (No. 4) and American (US) Frances Tiafoe (No. 6) will be looking to advance from the second round to the quarterfinals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC.

Ruud, who struggled to get past the first round after a three-set loss to Argentine Guido Andreozzi, will face Japan’s Daniel Taro, who comes from the qualifiers and is ready for any challenge.

Fritz, who also made it to the second round by beating fellow countryman John Isner in three sets, will face Canadian Denis Shapovalov on a much higher caliber match.

Rune, who struggled in three sets against American (US) Ben Shelton, will face the surprising Portuguese, Nuno Borges, recent champion of the Challenger of Monterrey, who will be looking for the upset. 

In a more attractive match, American (US) Frances Tiafoe will face veteran Spaniard Feliciano López, who´s playing his last AMT after announcing his upcoming retirement last December.

Both players have the sympathy of the Mexican crowd. López for his consistency in Mexico and Tiafoe for his dedication to the public.

Brothers, Matteo and Jacopo Berrettini will have their share of action being the highlight of the day. Matteo will face the Swedish, Elias Ymer, a somewhat “lucky” loser who has reached the second round of the tournament after beating the French Adrian Manarinno. 

Jacopo will face the Australian Alex de Minaur, who defeated the young Mexican Rodrigo Pacheco. 

Two matches complete the second round, the first between Americans (US) Mackenzie McDonald and Brandon Nakashima and the second with Tommy Paul, seventh favorite, facing Michael Mmoh. For this edition, players from the United States occupied 10 out of the 32 available spots.

Feliciano Lopez hangs his racket

Written by Abierto Mexicano de Tenis on . Posted in News.

  • The 41-year-old Spaniard bids farewell to Acapulco, one of his favorite tournaments.

Acapulco, March 1st – Feliciano López has been one of the most consistent tennis players over the last decade at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC. That consistancy and his love for Mexico and the tournament have allowed him to say goodbye as a professional player this 2023, an announcement he made last december and precisely,this news and last participation, gives a nostalgic touch to the XXX edition.

“I am happy to be here for another year. I still can compete, I have prepared myself to say goodbye as I always wanted, beyond winning or losing. You have to cope with the sadness of not having to chase that yellow ball around the world anymore… I played my last Wimbledon and when it was over I had the feeling that it was time, that my moment had come, that I had enjoyed a lot, specially the last few years, because many beautiful things happened to me that I did not expect” shared from Acapulco the current doubles champion.

Unfortunately his partner in the Mexican ATP 500, Stefanos Tsitsipas, got injured before the tournament and Feliciano could not find another partner to defend the title. He totaled six in doubles over a two-decade career and seven in singles. “The only fear I had… well, I’m still afraid because when you’ve been doing something for 20 years, you’re always afraid of what comes next. That happens to a lot of players and athletes, they’re afraid to retire because they don’t know what’s going to happen after tennis. In the end we have been doing this all our lives. For as long as I can remember I’ve had a racket in my hand, traveling all over the world,” he added at the beginning of his farewell tour.

A professional since 1997, the Spaniard reached No. 12 in 2017 at the age of 35 and for the same reason he defends veteran tennis players.

“The decision was made by me, it’s a conversation that arose with my closest environment, they asked me when? At first I was a little annoyed by the question. The last 10 years I have been asked, over and over again,but things were going well. The tennis players of another era, from the age of 30 is usually an age where they used to retire for one reason or another, now we see that careers are much longer, some play well at their 40’s. From the age of 30 onwards everyone starts to retire, and you listen to all the excuses ; Hey ‘leave me alone, I’m fine, I’m doing what I like’. I’ve always taken it differently, I play for a year and think about the future. I’ve been very lucky, I haven’t had any injuries, it’s been a wonderful last stage”.

Feliciano will face today in the second round of the Acapulco Open 500 the American(US) Frances Tiafoe, an opponent who is on the rise.

Rodrigo Pacheco: “Emotions got the best of me”.

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  • The young Mexican shared his experience competing at the Arena GNP Seguros in his first match at a ATP 500 level.
  • Pacheco accepted that the crowd helped him but it was also a huge pressing factor during his match.

Acapulco, February 28th – The desire to see a Mexican in the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC will still have to wait. Rodrigo Pacheco lost to Alex De Minaur in the first round and after the duel he shared how he lived one of the most important nights of his career so far.

“When I entered the court it was very nice, it was incredible, I felt a nice and beautiful energy, such a great emotion and huge adrenaline when everyone was cheering for me. The fans were very nice today, they applauded me so much and showed me how much they loved me. In the end, things didn’t work out, but I’ll keep all the good things from the match,” said Pacheco.

Rodrigo recalled that last season he had an invitation to the qualifying round and that in the Los Cabos Open he made his debut in the ATP Tour. However, he considers his match against Alex De Minaur to have been the best of those three experiences so far.

“Today I played much better than last year and than in Los Cabos (…) I had never played in a stadium as big as this one and even less with this much crowd. The truth is that it could have worked against me a little bit (…) At my young age, sometimes I don’t know how to turn that into something positive, how to relax”, accepted the Mexican.

Regarding his level, Pacheco acknowledged that he faced one of the best players in the world and despite the score, he felt competitive during the match. He also recalled that he is still one of the best juniors in the world and that he hopes to be able to transfer that to the professional circuit at some point.

“Emotions got the best of me, I put a little more pressure on myself than I should have (…) I did get very nervous more than anything because I wanted to give a great performance to the whole crowd. Sometimes I worry a lot about things I shouldn’t worry about and I put huge pressure on myself. I thank all the public for the cheers and for giving me that great match because they helped me but sometimes I just backfires on myself for the same reasons,” Rodrigo finished.

Pacheco said that for this year he will try to stay in the junior tournaments but he will also continue to play in the Challenger circuit to keep collecting more ATP points. Surely his next experience at a ATP level will come again at Los Cabos Open.

Mexican pair put up a fight but are eliminated

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  • The top seeds in doubles advance to the second round.

Mexico’s Miguel Reyes-Varela and Hans Hach Verdugo were defeated 7-6(5), 6-3 by the British pair of Neal Skupski and Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands, the top seeds of the AMT 2023 doubles tournament.

It was a good challenge for the favorites as the Mexicans handed out their defeat by taking the first set to a tiebreak in which they failed at the crucial moment, in the last two points. The second set was also for the winners side

On the other hand, the duo formed by the Salvadoran Marcelo Arévalo and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer, second seeds, were beaten by the Brazilian Rafael Matos and the Spaniard David Vega Hernández by a score of 6-2, 3-6, 10-2.

Meanwhile, fourth seeded Jamie Murray of Great Britain and Michael Venus of New Zealand were eliminated by Austrians Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler by scores of 6-3, 6-7(7), 11-9.On Wednesday, Mexican Santiago González and Frenchman Eduard Roger-Vesselin will face Americans (US) Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow and Colombians Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal, third seeds, will face Americans (US) Mackenzie McDonald and Ben Shellton.

Berrettini brothers make a fine debut

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  • Matteo Berrettini sealed the deal to the second round after his opponent withdrew from the match
  • His brother Jacopo also advanced in his singles debut Acapulco

Acapulco, February 28th – Italian Matteo Berrettini is one of the stars of the XXX edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC , advancing to the second round with a dominant first set in his return to an official match since the Australian Open.

His opponent, Slovakian Alex Molcan (No.57), had to retire in the second set due to an injury, so the match was decided 6-0, 2-1 in 45 minutes.  Despite the situation, Matteo Berrettini had a good feeling.

 “I didn’t expect to start the match so well. The last match I played was in Australia against Murray. I trained very hard. With my team we did a good job but you never know. In the end what you need are real matches. I think I played well. I’m very happy with my level, very much looking forward to play the next match” he shared after his debut.

“It’s a very tough sport, for a player who has my body size is very difficult to manage. I’m not in a hurry to play several tournaments, just playing is the most important thing for the moment and playing well and also for my mental health which is the most important thing of all” added the World No. 24 in press conference.

The Italian gave his opinion on the recent withdrawals of Carlos Alcaraz and Cameron Norrie “they are two players who have played very well in recent weeks, one has won Buenos Aires and the other in Rio, of coursemuch is different, in the end I know very well that it´s difficult to manage your body when you play a lot. Last year I came from Rio and I got injured here, Carlos got injured there. My idea when I came here was winning the tournament, if I have to play against Carlos or Norrie or my next opponent, my goal is the same. When you enter the court you have to win.”

On the other hand, his brother Jacopo made his debut in an ATP tournament main draw against Oscar Otte. The match was going evenly with one set each, even with a tie break in the second, however for the third the German had to retire due to an injury. 

“It’s hard not to think about what I went through to get here. My brother was the person who told me that I had to try to play tennis again, because I stopped when I was four years old, I didn’t like it, when I was eight he told me ‘you have to come back because you are going to enjoy this sport a lot’. Having him here has a huge impact on me. The First match for Jacopo in the main draw of a tournament. The opportunity given to me and my family, I am very happy,” said the eldest of the two.

Later the brothers made their debut playing as a couple in the doubles tournament in Acapulco.

Mexican Pacheco gains experience but is eliminated by De Minaur

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  • The Mexican had his first match at ATP 500 level and his second at tour level.
  • De Minaur remains undefeated in first rounds this year

Acapulco, Mexico’s Rodrigo Pacheco was unable to pull off the surprise of the tournament against Australian Alex De Minaur. The Mexican was looking to reach the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC, but was clearly outplayed by his rival.

Rodrigo’s excitement was visible before jumping into the GNP Seguros Arena. His debut at ATP 500 level took place in front of a crowd that fully supported him even though De Minaur was the clear favorite.

Alex quickly showed the difference in level. He started breaking the Mexican’s serve and only allowed him to play one game during the first set. In just under 40 minutes, De Minaur took the lead.

Pacheco maintained his fighting spirit at all times despite being clearly outplayed. Even so, the Mexican left several exchanges in which he emerged victorious, as the clear promise he still is.

Rodrigo even had a break point in his favor, but was unable to make it happen. On the contrary, he gave up his serve on a couple of occasions, the last of them for De Minaur to seal the victory with a 6-1 and 6-2 score after one hour and 16 minutes.

The Australian’s next opponent will be the surprising Jacobo Berrettini, who came from the qualifying round and emerged victorious from his match against Oscar Otte thanks to the retirement of his German opponent in the third set.

Ruud withstands pressure from Andreozzi and advances

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  • The Norwegian was close to falling against the 342nd player of the world in the last round of the Arena GNP Seguros and needed almost three hours to get the victory.

Acapulco, February 27th – The first day closed with a major surprise. The Argentine Guido Andreozzi was one step away from achieving what would have been his biggest victory yet  but in the end it was the Norwegian Casper Ruud who advanced to the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC.

The Norwegian started off a break down in the match but it didn’t take him long to recover lost ground. He managed to recover against a surprising Andreozzi, taking a 6-4 lead.

It looked like a straightforward victory for the Roland Garros and US Open finalist, but the Argentinean broke Rudds´s serve in the second set. Ruud managed to recover again, but Guido got a new break to close the second set with his serve 6-4 and send the match to the third set.

During the last set we saw one break on each side until both players reached a 6-6 tie and had to decide the match in a tiebreak. During the tiebreak, Ruud used up all of his experience and Andreozzi unfortunately could not show his best game. With a 7-2 score, Casper got his ticket to the next round, where he will face Japan’s Taro Daniel.

Rune advances after a huge comeback

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  • Fourth-seeded Dane survived Shelton’s 9 aces to take the victory.

Acapulco, February 27th – Denmark’s Holger Rune confirmed his Top 10 status and maturity with a comeback win over American (US) Ben Shelton. Current world number 10 in the ATP ranking had a hard-earned victory as he needed three sets to overcome the inspired American who stood up to him at the GNP Seguros Arena.

Rune and Shelton delighted the fans who were present to witness what could be one of the most important duels in the future. The 19 and 20 year olds, respectively, competed for more than 2 hours in an exciting match.

The first set could have gone either way. Rune and Shelton reached the tiebreak after each got a  break and both had set point in the tiebreak. At the end it was Ben who took advantage of his opponent’s errors taking a 7-6 lead.

The match was split until a 4-4 in the second set. After taking a 5-4 lead with his serve, Rune took advantage of Shelton’s errors to press with his return and eventually got the break and set at the same time.

For the last set, the Dane was largely superior to Shelton, who continued to go from bad to worse. At the end, Rune clinched the win with a final score of 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-2.

“I wasn’t as sharp as I would´ve liked, specially during key moments of the first set. I embraced it and got through; I started strong with my serve in the second set, I played much more freely, a bit more aggressive, I felt at ease,” Rune recalled after the match.

“After that, we played two amazing last points in the second set. I feel like I had a little bit of the advantage and I used to my advantage. My discipline was key in the third set,” the Dane added.

Rune will play in the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC against the winner of the match between Portugal’s Nuno Borges and American Nick Chappell.

RANKING COUNTRIES

UNITED STATES 14

ARGENTINA 7

AUSTRALIA 7

SPAIN 9

ITALY 6

SERBIA 5

FRANCE 9

GREAT BRITAIN 4

GERMANY 3

CROATIA 2

CANADA 2

The Grand Stand vibrates on its 2023 debut

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  • Shapovalov, Tiafoe and Paul fulfilled all predictions and made the Grandstand “Caliente” vibrate at the beginning of the tournament.

Acapulco, February 27th.- There is no doubt that every court inside the GNP Seguros Arena lives matches of high intensity during the tournaments week and the opening of the Grandstand had nothing to envy the main stadium with three matches that vibrated with the 1,500 spectators that jam packed each match in the opening day of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC in its XXX anniversary.

First, Dennis Shapovalov (No. 30) and Miomir Kecmanovic (No. 31) fulfilled all predictions with a close match that went to a tie break in the first set and resulted in favor of the Serbian. 

Every victory and effort counts, specially when both are competing for the same positions in the ATP ranking, however, it was the Canadian who evened the score in the second set when in just 26 minutes he finished his first opponent with an outstanding serve. After 2 hours and 15 minutes into the game, Shapovalov, finally managed to increase his advantage against Kecmanovic 2-1 thanks to eight aces and despite committing more double faults (7). The final score was 6-7(4), 6-0, 7-5. He´ll face Taylor Fritz (No. 5) in the second round.

Then came the turn of the American (US) Frances Tiafoe (No.15) against Yoshihito Nishioka, both started their debut in Acapulco with high intensity as they went to a tie break in the first set. Finally, after one hour & 44 minutes, last year’s US Open semifinalist looked very solid on his first serve and broke the Japanese twice during the match. With a score of 7-6(6)-6-4 he advanced to the quarterfinals where he´ll face Feliciano López, who defeated Christopher Eubanks.

Finally Tommy Paul (No.23) faced Emilio Gómez for the final match of the day and although he took the first set in just 29 minutes, for the second set the Ecuadorian9 offered a better battle until a tie break that the American (semifinalist in the last Australian Open), managed to control for a 6-1, (4)6-7 final score in less than two hours. The 25-year-old player will face his compatriot Michael Mmoh this  Wednesday.

Fritz debuts his Top 5 with a victory

Written by Gabriel Herrea Morones on . Posted in News.

  • The American (US) got the upper hand in a serving duel against his compatriot John Isner.
  • Taylor debuted as World No. 5 with a victory

Acapulco, February 27th – It´s never easy to face a compatriot; what better proof of that, was the duel between Taylor Fritz and John Isner in the first round of this open; the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC.

Things started off a bit complicated for the newest No. 5 in the world. Being the first to lose his serve and John Isner taking advantage of that to win the first set 6-3.

As if that wasn’t enough, Fritz had to ask for physio assistance after the first set due to a left leg discomfort. Taylor was clearly looking for solutions thru stretching but still looked uncomfortable on the court.

Both the physio’s assistance and the break after the first set seemed to help Fritz. Improving significantly with his service, and gradually presented more threats in the return, until he got a big break that allowed him to even the scores with another 6-3.

Isner tried to hold on to the possibility of advancing to the next round, but at the most critical moment of the match, he gave up his serve. Taylor became more aggressive on the return and took advantage of Isner´s errors, putting himself in a position to serve for the match.

After saving a break point, Taylor Fritz took the victory with a final score of 3-6, 6-3 and 6-4 to get into the next round of the Open.

More good news for him, since he´ll have a day off before playing for the quarterfinals against Denis Shapovalov.

“It’s exciting to be inside the top 5. Now it’s time to focus more on the tournament and not so much on the ranking. It was great to get through the match and get the win,” said Fritz after his win this afternoon.

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