Acapulco, Gro., February 25, 2020.- Renata Zarazua stole the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, presentado por HSBC, with an epic victory against the american Sloane Stephens, the #1 seed in the tournament and player #35 in the WTA ranking.

It was a magical night for the mexican women’s tennis tournament, as Renata (ranked #270 in the world) got the crowd excited with her dedication and her extraordinary strategic work, which was elaborated with her team led by her brother.

Zarazua, 22-years-old, had a total of 15 winning strokes against Stephen’s 10 strokes, who was surprised and at times annoyed for not being able to play her usual game.

Although she already won a first-round match in the Abierto Mexicano two years ago against the czech Kristina Pliskova, this is Renata’s biggest victory in her career since she faced one of the best players in the world in recent years (Sloane was #3 in the WTA and she won the US Open once).

In addition, this meant a rematch for her since the mexican lost her match against the chinese Saisai Zheng in the 2019 edition when she had a match point to win her ticket to the second round.

“It was a mentally tough game, I’ve never played with her before, but I know her weakness. The idea was to move her, to never let her be well planted, to not let her feel comfortable. This game was super special because of who she is, and that means a lot to me. I entered the court thinking I could win; it was important to know and believe that I could. I’m grateful with my coaches and the people who support me because they help me move forward”, said the mexican player. In the second round of the tournament, she will face the american Katie Volynets, who defeated her countrywoman Shelby Rogers with a score of 6-2 and 7-6 (5).

In another result, the young canadian Leylah Fernandez (#190-WTA) had no complications defeating the serbian Nina Srojanovic in two sets in order to keep ascending in her career. Fernandez (Ecuadorian origin) won in straight sets of 6-4 and 6-1 in an hour with 10 minutes of action.

Leylah, winner of the Roland Garros Jr. and the Australian Open Jr. (both in 2019), entered this season as a professional, where she already had some important victories, especially representing her country in the Federation Cup. In the second round, Leylah Annie will play against the japanese Nao Hibino.

In other news, the italian veteran, Sara Errani (coming from the “qualy” and leaving behind her extra-court problems) managed to continue to the round of sixteen with a triumph in two sets against the spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, by the score of 7-5 and 6-4.

The americans Christina Mchale and Carolina Dolehide also moved on to the second phase. Mchale had to battle through three sets to eliminate her countrywoman lauren Davis, while Dolehide defeated Usue Maitane Arconada (also from the United States) by a double 6-2.

The Australian retired due to an injury on his left wrist

Acapulco, Gro., February 25, 2020.- The Abierto Mexicano Telcel, presentado por HSBC, was left without their defending champion because of a withdrawal due to an injury at the end of the first set against the french Ugo Humbert.

The match between the two players at the ATP tour ended when the Australian was unable to continue the game due to an injury on his left wrist. Even though he received medical attention, Kyrgios preferred not risking a mayor injury. He decided to leave the game after losing 6-3 in the first set after 30 minutes of action.

This was his second defeat in 10 matches played on mexican territory, he will not be able to defend the title he won last year against the german Alexander Zverev.

Kyrgios, who will lose the points he won at last year’s championship, explained at the end of the match that he already had a strong pain in his left hand from previous days, but he wanted to see if he could play since he wanted to compete. At the end, it was impossible for him to continue with the match.

For Ugo Humber, who is 21 years old and #43 in the ATP ranking, this was his debut in Acapulco, where he arrived as a champion from the Auckland Tournament. He is looking for his second title in the season.

Ugo Humbert’s rival in the round of sixteen will be the american Taylor Fritz, who defeated the australian John Millman in three sets, 7-5, 3-6, and 6-1 in just under two hours. The 22-year-old Fritz is participating for the third time in Acapulco, he got to the quarterfinals in 2016. With this victory, he improved his record to 3 wins and 2 losses.

On the Grandstand stadium, John Isner (USA’s giant and fifth seed) achieved a quick victory in little more than an hour of match against the german Mischa Zverev so he could get a place in the round of sixteen of the Abierto Mexicano.

Isner, who is 34 years old, is on his second consecutive participation in Acapulco, last tournament he got all the way to the semifinals. The #20 player of the ATP, as usual based his victory with his serve, he had 22 aces and a level of 92% of points earned with his first serve. In the second round, Isner will play against his countryman Marcos Giron.

Acapulco, Gro., February 25, 2020.- Although he had an uncertain beginning, Alexander Zverev was able to move on to the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, presentado por HSBC, by defeating Jason jung (representing Taipei, China) a fearless competitor, who put the german through some difficulties in the first set.

Jung surprised Zverev (#7 in the world) with this quick play and went up 4-1 in the first set. However, Sasha made the necessary adjustments to even the score and then win the tie break.

The second set was single-sided, Zverev was being dominant with his serve, in which he connected 12 aces, plus he achieved three breaks to reach the round of sixteen for the second consecutive year. The final score was 7-6 and 6-1. The german, second seed of the tournament, assures his place to the round of sixteen, where he will play against the american Tommy Paul.

Alexander Zverev, finalist in 2019, has already won eight times in his participation in Acapulco. He is looking for his second consecutive final, since last year he lost the match for the title against the australian Nick Kyrgios.

“I mean it was expected, it’s my first match back after Australia I think, you know, it’s never easy. Obviously, you can play well while training, but during the match it’s different, here I already played 2 matches this week, but at the end I’m happy I went through”, said popular Sasha, who is also defending the title of doubles alongside his brother Mischa.

Acapulco, Gro., February 25, 2020.- The canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime remains focused. After being a finalist in the Marseille tournament, the young man changed his state of mind so he could play under different conditions. He scored his first win at the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telcel, presentado por HSBC, by eliminating the australian Alex Bolt by 6-3 and 7-6 (5).

It was the second victory of the fourth seed in Acapulco against Bolt, who he also overcame in the Adelaide tournament last month.

“My serve was very helpful today, they’re different courts, different balls. I just arrived yesterday. I trained and I tried to maintain my consistency on my serve and today things went well”, said Felix.

The Grand Stand Caliente summoned a considerable number of people who were eager to see that 19-year-old boy who is ranked #19 in the world, all thanks to his great talent.

Auger-Aliassime did not give any signs of tiredness due to his long journey, he was left with the first set of 6-3 against Alex Bolt (#127 in the world), who entered the main draw as a “lucky loser”.

In the second set, Bolt made things a little more complicated for the canadian, who endured the attack and was able to keep his ticket for the second round in the tie break.

Felix, being so young, explained how he has managed to keep his mind focused during the matches. “It wasn’t always like that, sometimes I feel frustrated and I’m close to exploding, but I’ve worked really hard to control myself”, he said.

In the second round, the canadian will play against Kyle Edmund.

The korean Soonwoo Kwon also got his pass to the last sixteen by defeating the japanese Taro Daniel by 6-2, 2-6, and 6-3 after almost two hours.

Kwon will compete in the quarterfinals against Dusan Lajovic (eighth seed), who beat the American Steve Johnson by 6-7 (5), 6-4, and 6-3.

Pedro Martinez (from Spain) and Soonwoo Kwon (from Korea) advanced to the second round

Acapulco, Gro.; February 25, 2020.- Grigor Dimitrov was off to a good start in the 27th edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, presentado por HSBC, as he won the match against the bosnian Damir Dzumhur in the first round so he could continue fighting for the title.

With a very consistent play, and fully adapted to the weather conditions in Acapulco, the 28-year-old Dimitrov won with a score of 6-3 and 6-3 in an impressive tennis match. On the first set, the Bulgarian broke once, which was enough to win the set. In the second set, Dimitrov, even though he lost his serve, he broke his rival three times so he could win with ease. It is only the 5th victory of the year for Dimitrov and also his 9th victory at the AMT, where he has a lifetime record of 9-2.

Dimitrov, who is currently #22 of the ATP, has fond memories of Acapulco after he got his crown in 2014. For Dzumhur, who has not won any matches this season, this was his second appearance in the Abierto Mexicano since 2016, when he also lost in the first round.

Since the 2016 season, Dimitrov and Dzumhur had faced each other at least once a year, and in four previous matches, the bulgarian always won the match; their last match was in 2019 at the ATP of Vienna on a hard court.

In the round of sixteen, Grigor will face the french Adrian Mannarino, who beat the british Cameron Norrie on his debut.

In another court, the spaniard Pedro Martinez made his debut at the Abierto de Acapulco with a victory in straight sets 6-3 and 6-2 against Radu Albot (from Moldova) in just an hour and a half of play. For Martinez (who is 22 years old), this is his 6th victory of the year, with a quarterfinal in Rio de Janeiro last week.

In the second round, the iberian will have a tough match against the third seed, Stanislas Wawrinka. Albot has been unable to get a win this season, he is on a losing streak (5 matches). A couple of years ago, Albot came to Acapulco and also said goodbye in the first round.

On the other hand, in a duel of Asians, the korean Soonwoo Kwon defeated the japanese Taro Daniel, who entered as a “lucky loser” to the tournament, this was his first professional match. The match ended in three sets of 6-2, 2-6, and 6-3.

This year, the korean tennis player comes from playing quarterfinals in Delray Beach, New York, and Pune, India.

Taro Daniel, who is 27 years old and #110 in the world, has not had a lot of activity on the ATP tour, however, on the Challenger circuit he reached the crown in Burnie, Australia.

Acapulco, February 25, 2020.- Rafael Nadal makes his tournament debut this coming Tuesday at the 27th edition of the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telcel, presentado por HSBC.

The #2 player in the world ranking and first seed in Acapulco. He will face on the third match of the day his countryman, Pablo Andujar, to whom he has defeated in the three matched they have had, all on clay courts.

Nadal arrived on Thursday to Acapulco, he commented that he has been feeling better at his trainings. In the last edition, Nadal was eliminated just in the second round by Nick Kyrgios whom went on and won the tournament.

“Last year I lost a match that I should have won, it is part of the sport, but whenever I’m here I always take good memories of the people, I always have a good time regardless of the positive or negative results, but there’s been more positive results”, Nadal said, who has held the trophy of this tournament twice (2005 and 2013)

The always-controversial Kyrgios will try to take the first step to keep his title when he faces french Ugo Humbert in the prime time match.
Nick appears as the sixth seed and this will be his first-time facing Humberto, who right now is occupying the 43rd position of the ATP classification, which is 20 places below the Australian, who is in the 23rd position.

Alexander Zverev, second in the seed, will play against Jason Jung (from Taipei) who is coming from the “qualy”, and they don’t have any previous matches.

Also, the canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (who came from playing the Marseille tournament finals) debuts against australian Alex Bolt (LL) whom he defeated last month in the quarterfinals of Adelaide.

Venus and Stephens are ready.

In the women’s tournament, the americans Sloane Stephens (first seed) and Venus Williams, former champion in 2009 and 2010) will have their first interactions against the mexican Renata Zarazua and the slovenian Kaja Juvan.

Stephens, former champion of this event in 2016, lost in the second round of 2019, while for Venus this means her return to Acapulco after 10 years.

Acapulco Gro., February 24, 2020.- Gerardo Lopez Villasenor had an unfavorable beginning at the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telccel, presentado por HSBC. He lost against the american Marcos Giron by 4-6 and 6-7 (3), but he is convinced that if he keeps working hard, at some point he will be able to take matches in his favor against players of this level.

Villasenor, located in position 518, sees this as a positive thing to be able to play against players with better rankings, like Giron (115), because that is the only way to obtain experience and knowledge.

“This was another match, another year in which I was very close. I’m missing some details that I have to work on to achieve another level, I need to keep working; physically I’m better than last year, I’m mentally more mature. The second set was very even, I fought for it, but I was unable to get the result I wanted,” Gerardo noted with regret.

He also lost in the first round in 2019, but he said that he trained a lot on the physical aspect compared to one year ago. He worked “on strengthening the hip, a year ago I was slower, I couldn’t play long rallies, I was not on that level at the time.”

He is confident that with the opportunities that are offered to the locals in these tournaments, the Mexicans will be able to “be up to the challenge”, “we need to work a little bit more”. He hopes to compete in the “Challengers” that are organized in the country, “and if I keep working hard, I think that at some point I will be able to take the next step”, said the mexican.

In the last match of the first day, the british Kyle Edmund eliminated the spaniard Feliciano Lopez by 6-4 and 6-1 in an hour and eight minutes.

Acapulco, Gro., February 25, 2020.- Giuliana Olmos completed a successful day in the mexican women’s tournament as she got her pass to the second round in the doubles tournament accompanied by the american Desirae Krawczyk.

The second seed team of the tournament defeated the russians Anna Kalinskaya and Anastasia Potapova by 7-5 and 6-4 to move on to the quarterfinals.

Olmos and Krawczyk are playing their third year together. They’re looking to improve their performance from last year in Acapulco, where they reached the final but lost against Victoria Azarenka and Saisais Zheng.

On the second round they could meet the mexican team, Renata Zarazua and Marcela Zacarias, in case they win their match against Cornelia Lister and Yana Sizikova.

On the other matches of today, the ukranian Kateryna Bondarenko and Sharon Fichman (from Canada) defeated 4-6, 6-2, and 12-10 to Renata Voracova and Marie Bouzkova (both czech).

Meanwhile, Nao Hibino from Japan and the british Heather Watson, defeated Danka Kovinic from Montenegro and Dalila Jakupovic from Slovenia, with a score of 6-4 and 6-1.

Acapulco, Gro., February 24, 2020.- The Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telcel, presentado por HSBC, saw the 2019 champion fall in the first round.

The chinese Yafan Wang, who surprised the public last year when she became the first asian player to raise the trophy in Acapulco, had a bad day and was overtaken by a countrywoman from the “qualy”.

Xiju Wang won the match with the results of 6-4 and 7-6 (8) to get her pass to the second round, in which she will have to face the winner of the match between the italian Sara Errani and the spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, whom will play on Tuesday.

Yafan was unable to find a rhythm in her strokes, and she also failed to connect with her first serve; she ended up with only 49% in that area. Her returns also had no effect against Xiju’s best location and power, who on her side had 66% of first serves.

Xiju, who ranks 127 in the WTA, played in the quarterfinals in the Thailand tournament last week; Yafan participated in that tournament and was eliminated in the first round.

The ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko also got her pass to the second round defeating the montenegrin Danka Kovinic 6-7 (7), 6-4, and 6-2. Meanwhile, Tatjana Maria eliminated the third seed, the czech Marie Bouzkova, by 6-4, 1-6, and 6-2. The german got her triumph in two hours and 25 minutes after winning the last five games of the final set.

The slovenian Tamara Zidansek defeated the russian Anna Kalinskaya 6-3 and 6-4. Now she will be able to face Venus Williams (if the american wins this Tuesday).

In doubles, Caroline Dolehide and Astra Sharma advanced to the second round after beating Laura Arruabarrena and Christina Mchale by 6-4 and 6-3.

Acapulco, Gro., February 24, 2020.- The british Heather Watson, seventh seed, opened the activities at the Mextenis stadium in the 27^th edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, presentado por HSBC, with a victory in three sets against the american Coco Vandeweghe.

It was a very close game that lasted two and a half hours, where the british had to come from the behind to get her pass to the second round on the female draw. The score was 4-6, 6-4, and 6-4, Watson took advantage of the countless mistakes made by the american player so she could add her tenth victory of the season.

Heather Watson, who is ranked #69 in the WTA classification, plays for the fifth time in the Acapulco tournament where her best results was the second round in 2017, she was eliminated by France’s Kristina Mladenovic.

Vandeweghe has not been very fortunate in the port of Guerrero, where she lost the two games that she played. The first one was in 2014 during her qualifying round, and now in her debut in the main draw. It’s only her second match played in the season, with an equal number of losses, showing a game way below her level which took her to ninth place in the world’s ranking a couple of years ago. Currently she is ranked 193th in the WTA.

On the other side, japanese Nao Hibino, ranked #8, had no trouble beating the dutch Arantxa Rus. With a powerful score of 6-3 and 6-1, this clearly reflects the superiority.

Also, in the first round, russian Anastasia Potapova had an uncertain beginning, but she managed to come from behind and beat Slovak Anna Karolina Schmiedlova by 4-6, 7-5, and 6-1 in three sets. The russian’s next rival in the second round will be the winner of the game between german Tatjana Maria and czech Marie Bouzkova.

In regards to the women’s doubles tournament, the first big surprise was the elimination of the number one seeds, composed by Spain’s Georgina Garcia Perez and Sara Sorribes Tormo, who lost against the american Sabrina Santamaria and the serbian Nina Stojanovic, where they took the victory by 6-3 and 6-1.