Acapulco, Gro., February 24, 2020.- Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic came from behind to defeat the australian Alex de Minaur and moved forward to the second round in the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telcel, presentado por HSBC.

In his first appearance in Acapulco, Kecmanovic overcame a negative start. After a good serve and powerful returns, he defeated Alex by 3-6, 6-4, and 6-3.

With only 20 years of age and #50 in the world ranking, Kecmanovic showed confidence against his opponent, who appeared to be the favorite in the main stadium because of his best ranking (25), the european was not intimidated by the ranking.

The only past meeting among these young tennis players was in “The Next Gen ATP Finals” from last year when De Minaur won in four sets.

In the initial set, the australian (only 21 years old and currently number 25 in the world) stroke first since he managed to break the service of his opponent in the fourth game, but Kermanovic recovered the next game immediately when Alex sent back a ball by the base line when the score was 15-40.

In the next two games, they both held their serve until the eight game when De Minaur managed another break to keep the set.

The second set passed evenly. Kermanovic made the desired break to force a third set, in which he saved two break points in the seventh game and in the next one he broke Alex’s serve to take the lead and then ensure the win with his serve.

Now, the serbian awaits the next winner of the match between Rafael Nadal and Pablo Andujar (both from Spain) that will take place on Tuesday. This year he reached the semi-finals round twice (at the tournaments in New York and Doha).

In another first round result, Tommy Paul was the winner of the match against Mackenzie McDonald by 6-7 (4), 6-4, and 6-4. Paul and McDonald (both americans) had never faced each other before.

In his last participation in Acapulco, Paul was eliminated in the first round (2016).

In the doubles event, the bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov advanced to the second round, doubling with Taylor Fritz, and defeated the duo of Marcus Daniell and Phillip Oswald by 7-5, 3-6, and 12-10.

The result was a bit of a surprise since Daniell (from New Zealand) and Oswald (from Austria) came with a better momentum, as they have been playing together since September of last year (Zhuhai, China).

This year, Dimitrov (former champion in singles in 2014) has only played doubles in the ATP Cup with his countryman Alexandar Lazarov. In 2019, he intervened in only four tournaments as a doubles player, in which three of them were in the Masters 1000 category.

Fritz, with a ranking of 125 in doubles, comes from playing quarterfinals at Delray Beach.

Daniell and Oswald came to Acapulco with a great attitude after playing Delray Beach, the New York Open, the Australian Open and Auckland.

Acapulco, Gro., February 24, 2020.- Cameron Norrie goes out in the first round of the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telcel, presentado por HSBC. In a tight encounter, the british was eliminated by the french Adrian Mannarino, with the final score of 2-6, 6-3, and 6-3.

The game between the left-handed players had its touch of controversy due to the fact that the line judges called some balls that seemed out as good for Adrian’s cause. This even provoked that the audience at the Grand Stand Caliente to whistle and chanted “out, out!”.

Norrie could not hide his frustration, especially after handing over the second set, he expressed his anger by smashing the racket, and on more than one occasion he turned to the chair umpire to complain about the calls he thought were wrong.

Last year, Cameron reached the semi-finals in Acapulco, and although this time he entered with a Wild Card, it seemed he could go further. Specially since before this match, his record against Mannarino was 2-0, with wins in the Los Cabos tournament in 2018, and the Monte Carlo Masters in 2019

The first set was taken by a more accurate Norrie, who was solid from the backcourt, winning it 6-2 without complications.

The story for the next set was different, when the Frenchman scored a break in the eight game (5-3) to level the score when confirming the break.

And on the final set, Cameron gave up two times his serve. Although he recovered one, Mannarino was the one who advance to the second round.

This win was just the second victory in 2020 for Mannarino, who now has the challenge of overcoming the second round, although he has six participations in this tournament (2014-2019), he has reached this instance in only two occasions.

This Tuesday he will debut in the XXVII edition against Pablo Andujar

Acapulco, Gro., February 24, 2020.- At age 18, being a young prodigy of this sport, in the 2005 season he appeared on the clay courts of the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis en Acapulco. Rafael Nadal, who became the youngest player in history –a record still in effect- raised the coveted silver “guaje”, the trophy to the tournament champion, his third ATP title.

Since then, over 15 years, Nadal became a legend in the sport with 84 victories in the professional tour, including four participations in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, presentado por HSBC, with two titles (2005 and 2013), one final (2017) and one quarter finals (2019).

In the 27th edition, the AMT will live its last event in the current venue before moving to the new facilities by 2021. Because of this change, the number two player of the ATP had a reflection of the moments he has lived for the mexican public.

“In my four previous participations on this event, in 2005, 2013, 2017 and 2019, I always had positive experiences, always good memories of this event. The only bad memory I can think of was in 2018 when I had to retire, I had to leave the tournament because of an injury just one day before I started. That’s the only bad memory that I have, but I can’t think of another bad moment; 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”.

Interestingly, the two times he won in Acapulco, Rafael Nadal also conquered Roland Garros. However, he assured that they were coincidences since he doesn’t believe in amulets. “I come because I like being here, I love the tournament, I love the organization that is always very nice to me. The audience makes me feel like at home, the people’s affection is always exceptional, I am here again with the illusion to enjoy one week in Acapulco. In fact, I am already doing it even before the tournament begins, this is an important week for me, it is one of the most important tournaments in the world. And for myself, it is a good test to see how I’m doing, and I hope to be prepared to play at a good level”.

Rafa is the first seed and most favorite to achieve a new title in his career. In the first round this Tuesday, he will make his debut against his countryman Pablo Andujar, to whom he has never lost in four previous matches and they have never played on a hard court.

“We know each other well, we’ve played since we were 13 or 14 years old, he is a good friend. The first games are always complicated, but with the illusion of playing well, I arrived one week before. During the trainings, I have done well and tomorrow the competition starts”, Nadal explained, who at the age of 33 he has a record of 15 wins and only 2 losses in Acapulco. A tri-championship in the Abierto Mexicano could once again give him the top world’s ranking with a combination of results.

Acapulco, Gro., February 24, 2020.- Alexander Zverev, John Isner, Sloane Stephens, and the mexican Renata Zarazua are ready to compete in the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telcel, presentado por HSBC. But this morning they gave themselves time to interact and exchange strokes on the tennis field known as La Concha en las Brisas, to start the symbolic “first serve”.

Raul Zurutuza, director of the event, accompanied by Ernesto Rodriguez Escalona (secretary of Guerrero’s Tourism), welcomed the players and thanked them for their presence.

“It’s a great tournament in an absolutely amazing place, it’s fun to be here, all the players and I enjoy our time here. You can truly enjoy spending time here; this year I came with my family”, Isner commented, who is playing for the sixth time in Acapulco, where last year he made it to the semifinals.

Zverev shared Isner’s opinion, “I’ve always said that the mexican fans are very passionate”, Sascha added while Renata Zarazua spoke of the importance of the mexican players to take advantage of tournaments of this level, “this is an opportunity for all mexicans, it is very important and we have to take advantage of this experience”.

The mexican got a wild card from the organization to compete in both singles and doubles alongside Marcela Zacarias. In singles, she will play in the first round with Sloane Stephens, who right now is the top ranked player in the tournament.

The tennis players hit the balls for a few minutes and receive some presents from the organization, after which they left to continue their training and then to get ready for their debut in the twenty-seventh editions of the tournament, which also celebrates 20 years of the incorporation of the feminine contest.

Acapulco, Gro., February 23, 2020. – As it is already a tradition, the great stars of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, presentado por HSBC, they delighted the children who were present at the Kids Day, the main event of the day was the training session between two  favorite players who which was open to the public : the former champions Rafael Nadal and Gringor Dimitrov.

All of the young fans were able to interact with Nickelodeon’s characters in the Mextenis Stadium, were idols like last year’s champions, the australian Nick Kyrgios and the chinese Yafan Wang, attended.

A wild variety of activities were carried out, among the most attractive was the rotation of strokes with kids against players like Kyrgios himself, the bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, the spaniard Feliciano Lopez, the serbian Dusan Lajovic, the slovakian Tamara Zidansek and the american Lauren Davis.

At the mixed doubles game, the mexican Santiago Gonzalez accompanied by the czech Marie Bouzkova, who took victory winning 15 points against the team integrated by the british Ken Skupiski and the chinese Yafan Wang, all of them making fantasy shots.

Later, another group of children formed 3 teams to compete for prizes, this was led by the american Sloane Stephens, who is the number one seed of the women’s tournament, the british Katie Boulter and the german Alexander Zverev. After a round robin, the so-called “Stephens Team” achived the victory and got the applause and recognition of the attendees.

Finally, at the end of the day, the spaniard Rafael Nadal and the bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov were greeted with a standing ovation as they entered the stadium for their last open training session before the start of the event.

The Kids Day represents a great opportunity for the kids to have a meet & greet, and autograph, or even the famous selfie with their favorite tennis players, who are the ones that motivate them so in the future they can become greats champions of the sport.

Acapulco, Gro., February 23, 2020.- Luis David Martinez and Miguel Angel Reyes Varela were willing to grab the ticket that was at stake in the doubles game qualify tournament, at the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telcel presentado por HSBC, but this time was not possible.

The mexican and the venezuelan were defeated by the US duo: Nicholas Monroe and Jackson Withrow, by the score of 6-3 and 6-4 after just over an hour of play.

Monroe and Withrow will be the Zverev brothers’ rivals (Alexander and Mischa) in the first round of the main draw of the doubles tournament. The germans are the defending champions of the tournament.

Reyes-Varela (accompanied by Martinez) was Mexico’s hope to have more representatives in the event, which in doubles they count with Santiago Gonzalez, who will pair with the british Ken Skupski.

In the singles category, Gerardo Lopez Villasenor entered the event thanks to a wild card.

In the other results of the qualifying round, the bosnian Damir Dzumhur got a place in the main draw after his triumph against the australian Alex Bolt, by 6-7 (5), 6-3, and 6-5.

Tommy Paul, from the United States, also won his place by beating Daniel Elahi Galan, from Colombia, by a 6-4 double.

Jason Jung, from Taipei, beat Germany’s Daniel Altmaier 6-1 and 6-3, and Marcos Giron, from the United States, beat Taro Daniel, from Japan, 6-4, 5-7, and 6-1.

In the women’s tournaments, young Leylah Fernandez, from Canada, won her ticket to the main draw with a 6-3 and 6-3 victory against Varvara Lepchenko from the United States.

The paraguayan Veronica Cepede Royg will also be in the main draw, after eliminating the slovenian Kaja Juvan by 6-2 and 6-3, while Caroline Dolehide beat Giulia Gatto-Monticone by 6-1 and 7-6 (6).

Also, Sara Errani, former champion in Acapulco in 2012 and 2013, achieved her place to the main draw with a victory against the american Nicole Gibbs by 6-3 and 6-0; Usue Maitane Arconada defeated Francesca di Lorenzo by 6-3 and 6-3, and the Chinese Xiju Wang won the duel against the ukranian Anhelina Kalinina by 7-6 (0) and 7-5.

Acapulco, Gro., February 23, 2020. – To speak of Stan Wawrinka is to refer to a man with a huge talent, possessor of an excellent backhand and one of the few privileged players that has managed to conquer three Grand Slam titles at the era of the “Big Four”.

The swiss crowned his effort and perseverance when in 2014 he raised his first trophy, at the Australian Open. With this achievement Wawrinka broke the hegemony that Roger Federer (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018), Novak Djokovic (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020) and Rafael Nadal (2009) maintained in the Australian contest since 2004. The other was Marat Safin in 2005.
In 2015 he conquered Rafael Nadal’s kingdom when he became the champion in Roland Garros, and the following year owned the title at the US Open.
Altogether he accumulated 16 trophies from the ATP circuit, the most recent in Genoa, in 2017, the year in which he had to undergo a knee surgery, after which his results were not the same, that led him to drop to 263 of the world ranking in 2018.
But after 2 years, he’s back in the top 20, ready to play like he did at his heyday.
“I feel good, I came to this tournament ahead of time and I think this might be a good year. I was already in Doha and Australia, this is going to be a long year and I have to be in a lot of tournaments, but overall, I feel good about this”, Stan commented, prior to his participation in the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telcel, presentado por HSBC.
From his point of view, one of the reasons why he gradually returns to his level is because he still enjoys a lot what he does. “To maintain yourself you need the right team, focus on the right things, on what you are doing. It’s been several years now on this, the tour trips, but I’m happy to keep playing at this level and keep pushing it forward”.
From afar, Stan The Man values what he has achieved so far, “I have achieved more than I would have thought when I was young; I already have some achievements, but I want to do so much more”, he says.
As of right now, his greatest desire is to win a tournament again, at any level, “because the feeling of raising a trophy is something special”.
It is fundamental do not loose motivation, so if today’s Stan could say something to kid Stan it would be “always love what you do, keep dreaming”.
Wawrinka describes himself as a nice guy; his favorite social network is Instagram and his favorite song is Where the Streets Have No Name, from U2.
As for his debut in the tournament in Acapulco, against Frances Tiafoe, he expects a complicated match “he is a player with great potential, I played against him in Basel (2019) and it was difficult. Now the conditions are different, but it’ll be important to know how I’m doing”.
Until that time comes, he is preparing himself and enjoys what might be a perfect day for him: sun, sea, sand and one of his favorite tournaments.

Acapulco, Gro., 22th of february 2020.- Luis David Martínez and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela
took the first step in the search for a ticket for the main draw of the doubles tournament at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, presentado por HSBC. The mexican duo stood their ground and in three sets surpassed Radu Albot and Austin Krajicek. Micky and Luis David gave hope to the national cause, which did not run with luck in the singles classification contest. The mexicans seized the first set 6-4, but Albot and Krajicek matched them by taking the second 6-2 and in the super tie break the mexicans had to come from behind to win the super tie break by 15-13.
It was an hour and a half of hard-fought encounter. Reyes-Varela and Martínez never lost faith. Because although in the super tie break they were down 5-1, they managed to match the score and turn the adversity around. The locals won 76 percent of the points played with the first service.
Regardless that it was already early Sunday morning, fans remained on the stands of court 2 to support their players. That energy help them to stay alive and now they will have to fight for the pass to the main draw before the couple composed of the american Nicholas Monroe and Jackson Withrow, who in the other duel left out the mexican Hans Hach Verdugo and his partner Robert Galloway , with partials of 3-6, 6-4 and 10-7.
Monroe and Withrow secure their pass when they achieved a 7-2 lead in the super tie break, which proved unattainable for Hach and Galloway.

Lucas Gomez, Alejandro Hernandez, Fernanda Contreras and Maria Portillo say
good bye to the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC

Acapulco, Gro., 22th of february 2020.-
Despite coming from behind to win the first set, the Mexican Lucas Gomez was eliminated from the qualifying phase of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, after falling in three sets against the Colombian Daniel Elahi Galán, eighth seed, in the match played in the Grand Stand Caliente.
A very even match in the first set that was defined with three games won consecutively by the Mexican who was down 4-5, including a break in the service of the South American. During the break, Lucas requested medical assistance for some physical problems. Despite the discomforts, Gomez began breaking the second set, but could not keep up and the rest of the game and was overcome; the second went to Galan 6-1.
With considerable problems, Lucas Gomez remained on the court to play the third set, but the Colombian took advantage of the circumstances and was clearly better to prevail 6-2 in the final.
The second mexican who went into action was Alejandro Hernandez, who fought well in the first set, but in the end he was defeated by Marcos Giron of the United States, 113 of the ATP, who imposed his greatest hierarchy with partials of 7-5 and 6- 1, in two hours of play, leaving the men’s qualification draw without national presence.
In the women’s draw there was also no luck for the two mexican representatives who participated via wild card. Experienced american Nicole Gibbs, had no trouble defeating Fernanda Contreras, player of the mexican team in the Federation Cup, which she defeated by a categorical 6-2 and 6-3.
Meanwhile, Maria Portillo Ramirez, could not offer much resistance against the Italian Francesca Di Lorenzo, who took the victory and the pass to the second round of the tournament, with a 6-3 and 6-1 victory.
RESULTS
Men, Round 1 Singles Qualy
Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-1, 6-4 Joao Menezes (BRA)
Alex Bolt (AUS) 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-6 (7) Sebastian Ofner (AUT)
Daniel Haltmaier (ALE) 6-3, 6-2 Ryan Harrison (USA)
Tommy Paul (USA) 7-6 (7), 1-0, Ret. Danilo Petrovic (SRB)
Jason Jung (TPE) 6-2, 6-2 Steven Diez (CAN)
Taro Daniel (JAP) 6-3, 4-3, ret. Max Purcell (AUS)

Women, Round 1 Singles Qualy
Kaja Juvan (SLO) 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2) Nadia Podoroska (ARG)
Giulia Gatto-Monticone (ITA) 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 Astra Sharma (AUS)
Caroline Dolehide (USA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 Martina Trevisan (ITA)
Leylah Fernández (CAN) 6-3, 6-1 Lizette Cabrera (AUS)
Varvara Lepchenko (USA) 7-5, 6-4 Allie Kiick (USA)
Verónica Cepede Royg (PAR) 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1 Laura Arruabarrena (ESP)
Sara Errani (ITA) 6-1, 6-2 Stefanie Voegele (SUI)
Anhelina Kalinina (UCR) 6-3, 6-1 Kristina Kucova (SVK)
Xiyu Wang (CHIN) 6-3, 6-4 Mayo Hibi (JAP)