March 2, 2017

The hearts of Mexican followers were divided, Novak Djokovic and Juan Martín del Potro was the best proof that one can have more than one love at a time. The Grand Stadium was filled with equal amounts of cheers supporting either Nole or Delpo. In a night that witnessed a showcase duel, at the end Djokovic was able to snatch the win and advance to quarterfinals 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Nole stood strong in a very demanding duel against an opponent that worked him to the point of exhaustion playing continuous long rallies. Wednesday night gave into Thursday’s early hours and fans were as energetic and excited as the duel itself.

The Serbian player now has a 12-4 H-2-H record against the Argentinian veteran that was able to connect right-handed, deep, shots. The public would celebrate each point as if it was the spectacle’s decisive one, with the score closely shifting from side to side.

The first set was owned by Juan Martin, who ended the partial with an ace, a double-fault and 80% effective first serve. Nole kept focused even after having a break-point against him and he worked hard to balance the scores every time. Djokovic ended the second set with two aces, 56% effective first service and saved four break-points.

The third set kept everyone on edge. Delpo had a triple break point in the seventh game although Djokovic saved the first two with a passing shot from the Argentinian when Novak was attacking on the net he gave the opening for the break. Nevertheless the Serbian was able to make a quick comeback (4-4) and then maintained (5-4). Del Potro struggled to keep up with his opponent but Novak cornered him so he would fault and in his double match point he secured his pass to quarterfinal rounds and will be measured against Australian Nick Kyrgios.

At the end of the match Nole thanked the Mexican audience for their warm support and the crowd answered his thankful gesture with applause and chants just as Delpo did while he exit the court gloomily.

March 1, 2017

An overpowering Rafael Nadal made it to quarterfinals in the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telcel after defeating 35-year-old Paolo Lorenzi 6-1 y 6-1 in a 66-minute duel.

This is Nadal’s second play after losing the Australian Open final round against Roger Federer. The player from Mallorca extended his record to a perfect 12-0 and 4-0 (head-to-head) with Lorenzi who has only been able to win one set against him.

Rafa set his mind on quickly finishing the confrontation playing his best with solid right-handed comebacks. “it is evident that I played really good tennis with a high travel rate just like it must be done with a player such as Lorenzi that is one of the top 40. I am glad I’m playing so well” said the 6ATP.

Nadal’s rival in quarterfinals is astounding Yoshihito Nishioka. 21-year-old Nishioka (84 ATP) is living a great moment, working his way from qualies and later defeating Australian Jordan Thompson 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 summing 4 consecutive wins in the Acapulco tournament. This will be the first time the Spaniard and Japanese players face each other

“It will be something new for both of us, so surprises or no surprises we all (the players) know each other’s game here. He (Nishioka) has been playing very well during the whole tournament, he has worked his way up, he has won 4 consecutive matches so he’s feeling confident. He doesn’t make mistakes, therefore I’ll have to be ready and stay focused and with high intensity” expressed Nadal about his rival for this Thursday.

• Goerges retired for Heat Illness
• Tomljanovic retired for Right Shoulder Injury
• Bouchard Flipkens wins by walk over – Goerges wd Heat Illness
• Last match on court 1 has been moved to court 4

March 1, 2017

Sam Querrey ended David Goffin journey in search of the Acapulco title and is now moving to the next round. Querrey found no rival in the no. 5 seed Goffin in a match that lasted 1:09 hrs with partials 6-2, 6-3 in the Grand Stand in the tropical city of Acapulco. Last year Querrey fell before former champion Dominic Thiem during the semifinal rounds.

Goffin’s fall was unexpected after having played finals in Sophia and Rotterdam while Querrey only made it to quarterfinals in Delray Beach. Three years ago David left Acapulco’s tournament during the same round as this year but that time around he fought in the qualifying rounds for a spot on the main draw. Goffin wasn’t able to control the American player’s strong service scoring only four out of 27 points of Querrey’s service who finished the encounter with seven aces and five double faults. Goffin scored one direct serve and four double-faults.

Kyrgios Advances

In a duel that took place in Court no. 2 of the Acapulco facilities, Aussie player Nick Kyrgios (now sixth seeded) left out five out of 9 American contenders. Kyrgios edged Donald Young with partials 6-2, 6-4 during his first Acapulco contest and first ever confrontation with Young. Donald asked for medical assistance during the eighth game of the first set and kept going with no further complications after de physician applied a bandage on his left knee. The 21-year-old Australian player has a tough quarter-final test against the winner of world No2 Novak Djokovic’s clash with Argentina veteran Juan Martin del Potro.

“I’m looking forward to any of them, honestly,” Kyrgios said post-match. “I think my top-10 record’s pretty good. I think I play well against the top-10 players.” spoke a confident Nick.

March 1, 2017

The best match of day two of the Acapulco Open is hands down the one starred by Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro and American Frances Tiafoe. The Grand Stand fired up after a brilliant, heart-racing, tight, triumph.

The Rio runner-up locked his pass after a tie-break against (very promising) 19-year-old NextGen ATP player Tiafoe. The Delpo-Tiafoe scores concluded in sets 6-4, 3-6 and 7-6(1) locking a Delpo-Nole clash showdown for the next round. 

The young promise seemed to have enough drive to claim the last set, he even got very close to breaking the Argentinian’s serve but wasn’t able to when Delpo connected nine direct serves with a 78% effectiveness. Frances (89 ATP) played an aggressive and strong game with a killer right-handed service but at the end the player gave in to stress and Delpo took advantage of this.

A big surprise was to see no. 7 seed cut short, American player Jack Sock failed against Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka (86 ATP). 21-year-old Nishioka secured his ticket to the next round in less than two hour match with sets 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Sixth seeded Nick Kyrgios (17 ATP) overcame Israeli player Dudi Sela in a three set match with a final score 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and will face American player Donald Young for the first time in his gaming career. Kyrgios has had a tough opening ATP season with only four out of six victories and is looking forward to improve his season by adding the Acapulco title to his collection: Tokyo, Atlanta and Marseille. 

Meanwhile Sam Querrey worked hard to overthrow Kyle Edmund 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 and will face no. 5 seed David Goffin in the next phase.

February 28, 2017

Dominic Thiem delivered to his followers last night in a packed to full capacity Grand Stand. The victorious no. 4 seed player overcame Frenchman Gilles Simon after a tight game 7-6(7) 6-3.

Thieminho just crowned himself in Rio de Janeiro’s tournament working on clay surface, unlike Acapulco’s hard-court. “It was a good game although I did recent the change in surface” he noted. After battling a tight tie-break during the first set the world 9^th ATP player found his confidence and performed an astounding 98% effective first serve and saved a break-point.

“There was a great energy, I wish to keep playing on there”, spoke Dominic about playing on the main court, the Caliente.mx Grand Stand, “it feels good to play in the second round but I know it won’t be easy, I need to focus, I have played Mannarino on a hard court twice before and were tough three set games (Paris Masters and Miami 2015), he’s a challenging left-hander”, the Austrian player also said he is willing to fight hard to maintain his current Acapulco title.

 Sam Querrey, as well as Thiem, had to work hard to edge over Kyle Edmund and will play number 5 seed David Goffin next.

February 28, 2017

Rafael Nadal had a strong debut in the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis. The second seed swept German Mischa Zverev with a double match point that resulted in a final score of 6-4 and 6-3.

The Spaniard celebrated with his Acapulco fans in the venue that saw him crown himself in 2005 and 2013 without losing a single set. The player eased through the match with the support of his followers that would scream and applaud every time he scored points. With an ear-to-ear smile, Nadal lifted his arms in celebration while he received a grand ovation.

“The truth is I had a good game, I’ve been training. After Australia I needed to gather myself. I arrived to Acapulco with anticipation; I spent the previous week in Cozumel to get myself used to the tropical weather. This was a great game against a difficult rival”, shared Nadal with the press.

An eager to win Nadal left fellow left-hander Zverev (30 ATP) without a chance during the German’s tournament debut. 76 minutes were more than enough to secure Rafa’s pass to the next round. During the evening’s duel Nadal gave a demonstration of an effective drive as well as his first serve. Zverev was not able to generate breaks during the first set and didn’t seize the break on the second.

The confrontation was a display of Nadal’s good physical shape although he had not played since the final round in the Australian Open. Nadal now leads the head-to-head with Zverev 2-0

Nadal’s next rival is Italian Paolo Lorenzi that edged Yoshihito Nishioka and now has a record of 3 consecutive wins.

February 28, 2017

No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic had an astounding debut in the tropical grounds of the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis by triumphing over Slovakian veteran Martin Klizan in a demanding match. This was Djokovic’s first tournament match after being defeated by Dennis Istomin in the Australian Open.

Nole, ranked 2 ATP, imposed himself by 6-3 and 7-6(4) over the left-hander Slovakian in a 1:34 hr battle. The first seed had to save four break points during his first three service games. During the second set the Serbian player lowered his guard and five-time ATP World Champion Klizan seized the opportunity and scored spectacular effective points but it wasn’t enough. 

The Slovakian’s frustration during the tie-break was very evident, it was so that the player threw his racquet against the floor several times that got him a warning from the judge. 

More than seven thousand fans witnessed Djokovic’s victory in the Grand Stand in Acapulco and celebrated with a standing ovation. “I wasn’t expecting this, I haven’t played since Australia so I was out of shape. There are great players it is not an easy draw. Klizan is very agresive, he’s not afraid of anyone so I had to do my absolute best”, shared a happily surprised Nole, which is a constant feeling since the player arrived to Acapulco, “I’m very greatful to the people of Acapulco, the tournament’s organizing team… they have been great to me and my team. The energy is amazing, very lively. I understand Acapulco is very close to Mexico City, so I hope a lot of people come to watch the final duels”, shared the stellar player.

Novak will face next Argentinian player Del Potro in a extremely anticipated clash.

February 28, 2017

Alexandr Dolgopolov is the second wild card to be left out of the tournament that is taking place in Acapulco after being defeated by Marin Cilic (8 ATP) 6-3, 4-6 y 6-0, Cilic is moving on to the second round.

In a stadium filled with witnesses Cilic battled through the second round with some complications and then seared during the third set. Both players broke during the first two sets and had a very tied game; it was the third set where Cilic tilted the balance to his side. Today’s score unties Cilic and Dolgo’s head-to-head.    

The Ukranian player arrived to Acapulco high spirited after reigning Buenos Aires’ ATP tournament. And looking for a different outcome ward to change his recent bad streak but was cut out early just like it happened previously in Rio when he played against Pablo Carreño Busta.

Cilic is up next against his Davis cup teammate Borna Coric (3-0 H2H in favor of Cilic). Their most recent 3-set face-off took place in Rotterdam. This is the first time the Bosnia and Herzegovina-born player moves to the second round in Acapulco, last year Cilic was edged by Ryan Harrison during his debut round. 

41 ATP Bernard Tomic dropped out after the first set against Donald Young due to an injury. Chicago-native, Young moves on to the next round.

Meanwhile Italian Paolo Lorenzi was taken aback during the first set, nevertheless he bounced back and edged Yen-Hsun 4-6, 6-3 y 6-4.

February 28, 2017

No. 4 seed Monica Puig will take on wild card Daniela Hantuchova after defeating Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the Acapulco Open. 

 “I’m very happy about my win. It was a demanding match, we both played very good tennis so the greater reason for me to feel happy about my victory”, expressed Monica. Going up an early break during the second set, Puig felt some pressure building up and faltered trying to serve out the match. Schiavone (156 WTA) played her best and worked a strong backhand that kept Monica on edge but wasn’t enough to take the win. 

The deciding tiebreak was just as close as the first two sets, with Puig grabbing the lone mini-break to take the match in straight sets after an hour and forty-seven minutes. 

This is Puig’s second victory over Schiavone, the first took place in Estoril 2013. 

Slovak player Daniela Hantuchova defeated Belgium player Yanina Wickmayer with sets 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Exploiting the her position as wild card, Hantuchova will fight the second round against Puig.

Madison Brengle edged German player Annika Beck 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a duel that lasted 2:11 hrs.