February 28, 2017

Just one day after conquering the Rio Open Title and exactly one year after proclaimed the throne in Acapulco, Thiem answered some questions in the press conference of the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telcel sponsored by HSBC before his opening duel against Frenchman Gilles Simon.

Thiem currently holds eight titles, two of them ATP 500 –Acapulco and Rio. The player set a day aside to rest after winning in Rio de Janeiro “I was in the ceremony and the next moment I was eating dinner while waiting for my flight to Mexico. I haven’t had much rest but I feel in shape to play tomorrow”, said Thiem.

The press questioned Dominic wondering if he felt confident with Novak Djokovic and Nadal in the contest this time around and ready to win the Acapulco title again. Thiem acknowledged that it will be a harder fight to maintain the title and points with Nadal Goffin, Novak and Del Potro in a challenging main draw.

“Spanish is a beautiful language but I haven’t being able to learn it, I don’t have much free time to learn languages, maybe in a few years I will be able to” replied Thiem after being questioned about his proficiency of the language.

The Austrian player started this current week ranked 9 and recalled that this time last year he was the leader of the Race to London tournament and was what catapulted him to the ATP World Tour Finals for the first time, “it was great to be next to the world top ten, I am very proud about it but it is also very demanding and I have to work very hard to stay in that position during the next years”.

When being interrogated about his favorite soccer team, Thieminho wished Chelsea makes it and wins the Premier League title.

February 27, 2017

Thompson surprised everyone after eliminating Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, a big favorite amongst Mexican followers in the Acapulco contest. The Australian player entered the main draw as a lucky loser but worked hard to compensate and loose the second adjective after coming stepping up his game during the second and third sets. Jordan (79 ATP) took advantage of Feliciano’s (31 ATP) evident poor physical condition.

The Spaniard made the impression that he was going to win the match after wining the first set with 6-2 scores, and it was during the second and third sets that his rival turned around the outcome. Thompson scored a break in the sixth game (4-2) and Feli wasn’t able to fight back after this, unable to control his drive, Lopez’ hits fell far from the side-line and his desperation became evident play after play. Still, Feliciano fell victim to his drive and he was not able to endure throughout the game and was beaten by Thompson in a 2hr15min game. Feli obtained a mere 53% first serve effectiveness and won 43 out of 74 points and only connected 4 ace serves. Thompson scored the same amount of direct serves, two doubles and saves 17 out of 21 breakpoints.

February 27, 2017

The first unexpected outcome took place during the first rounds of the Acapulco Open where Steve Johnson took out fellow American and eighth seed John Isner. Isner (22 ATP) allowed two decisive breaks that traced the outcome of the match.

26-year-old Johnson (26 ATP) recently played during Memphis quarterfinals and Delray Beach and will dispute the next round against compatriot Ernesto Escobedo who came out victorious of a difficult 3-set battle against Stefan Kozlov from Macedonia that just recently turned 19 years old.

Neto Escobedo, son to Mexican parents from the state of Zacatecas, came out victorious of a three set match with a final partials that swung back and forth 6-1, 2-6 and 6-0 with a filled-up Grand Stand to witness his win. Fans look forward to seeing more victories from Neto who holds last year’s Lexington and Monterrey’s titles.

This is the second time Escobedo has reached the second round in an ATP tournament this season. His previous round took place in the Australian Open, where he lost against the Spanish tennis player David Ferrer.

Acapulco, Gro., 27 de febrero.-

February 27, 2017

A large crowd gathered at the Caliente.mx Grand Stand in the Princess Mundo Imperial facilities to root for Mexican player Renata Zarazua (WC). Zarazua stepped on the court and started strong against her Belgian opponent, Kirsten Flipkens but after nearly three hours of struggle she fell with a final score of 7-5, 6-7 and 6-1.

Young Zarazua admitted that the cheering public was what made her fight as hard as she could, “during the third (set) I lacked energy, but I’m walking away happy knowing that I did my best” and she surely gave her best to counteract the big gap between both players ranking position, where Flipkens stands in position 76 and Zarazua in 295. Chants from the expectant attendees broke out during the Mexican’s first small break and after 143 minutes of battle Flipkens cuts Zarazua’s dream short and snatches her first victory. Flipkens will face either Ajla Tomljanovic or Eugenie Bouchard next.

Lesia Tsurenko (7 WTA) won over Cloe Paquet 6-2 and 6-1.

February 27, 2017

David Goffin, ranked 10 ATP, had a sensational opening debut in the Mextenis facilities against Stephane Robert (FRA) and came out triumphant with partials 6-1 and 6-2 in a 54-minute match.

The 26-year-old player will face the winner of the duel between Kyle Edmund and Sam Querrey during the second rounds. Goffin took advantage of Robert’s (80 ATP) 35%-effective first serve. This is not Goffin’s first time participating in the Mexican tournament, in 2014 David contended and lost during the second phase of the qualification rounds against Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis. This time around Goffin, not only made it to the main draw, he has moved on to 2R and has a big chance to keep on advancing. 

Simultaneously 28-year-old Adrian Mannarino (65 ATP) took out American Taylor Fritz with a three set victory 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 and is moving on to the second rounds. Fritz fought as hard as he could but at the end he was not able to raise his points gifting Mannarino with an opportunity to raise his overall tournament scores since he hasn’t been able to surpass the first instance in either the Australian Open, Sofia, Memphis or Delray Beach. Goffin will face either Kyle Edmund or Sam Querrey for his first Acapulco quarter-final match.

February 27, 2017

Andrea Petkovic from Germany is fulfilling her role as favorite by winning the duel against Jaime Loeb although her opponent didn’t go down without a fight against the 8^th seed. Petkovic took over after three sets in 99 minutes with partials 2-6, 6-1 and 6-3.

The German player had a few problems with her service during the first set which explains why Loep was ahead during the first partial. Andrea barely attained 45% effectiveness in her first serve but raised her percentages to 71% forcing the set by leveling the partials. At the end Loeb was not able to keep up and scored four aces, three double faults and 50% effectiveness in her first serve while Petkovic had two direct serves, 9 double faults and 57% first serve effectiveness.

Andrea will come face to face against Pauline Parmentier from france during the second rounds. Parmentier overcame Nicole Gibbs (USA) in a heart-racing dispute that took place in the first Court of the Princess Mundo Imperial Hotel facilities where both players gave the best of each other in an encounter that lasted more than three hours and resulted in partials 7-5, 6-7(6) and 6-2. The duel was a great display of Pauline’s excellent physical condition.

In a debut match that took place in the Grand Stand Caliente.Mx in Acapulco, former number 1 world junior Borna Coric from Croatia found no rival in Mexican Lucas Gomez and advanced to the tournament’s second round after a two-set victory where he made a display of great skill and proved why he is considered one of the Next Gen great promises after imposing himself by double 6-1 scores. Although the Mexican player had a good a big crowd cheering for him he wasn’t able to retort.

With a total of 5 breaks and making display of an effective service, 20-year-old Coric was over by 91% points on his first serve leaving Gomez without a small chance to bounce back and avoid the fall.

Now Borna (68 ATP) is waiting for his 2R rival: the outcome of the Cilic-Dolgopolov face-off.

On the other hand, Mexican tennis player Lucas grieves the moment Mexican tennis is going through, “(I) have to watch out for even the most smallest details and work on them during training. It is slower and more humid than normal (court conditions), matches are longer as well as points so when one is not in your favor it tilts the balance to one side a lot quicker. […] Mexican tennis is going through a crisis and it has to do not just with the players, it is a cultural matter, the Federation and those who are behind it. If the sport comes through it will do so thanks to private initiative. Unlike Spain, Czech Republic, Argentina and other countries, Mexico does not have a national school but we could learn from other countries and implement such systems here”, shared 21-year-old Gomez.

February 27, 2017

Kristina Mladenovic had a successful opening debut in Acapulco. 23-year-old Mladenovic, and tournament’s second seed, imposed herself over American player Varyara Lepchenko who wasn’t able to find a way to come back her rival’s attacks, 6-2 and 6-3.

Maldenovic arrived to the AMT2017 facilities motivated after conquering her first WTA title in Strasbourg; it only took her 35 minutes to snatch the first set in a match that was in her pocket from the beginning.

Under the intense sun in the Mextenis stadium, Mladenovic took control over Lepchenko who gave in under the pressure and her opponent’s moves. The match lasted 75 minutes and Kristina moved to the second round after having her first ever face-off with the French contestant that had a 8-4 record while Varyara held a 4-4 record.

Meanwhile in the fourth court, Louisa Chirico from the United States was defeated by fellow American Shelby Rogers with a 2-6, 2-6 score. Rogers will be measured next against the winner of the Lucic-Baroni and Bencic dispute that will take place Tuesday February 28^th.

Carrying the insignia of Olympic champion is no easy task, to be able to conquer a title that can only be attained every 4 years can change any player’s life and Monica Puig knows and treasures this well. After acing Rio 2016 Puig’s life gave a 180-degree spin. The Puerto Rican player encountered new obligations she wasn’t accustomed to but she made her way through them.

“It was a hard transition, at that time I didn’t know how to deal with such pressures and such that came along with winning the gold. At this moment I feel confident and feel prepared to keep on competing and playing my best”, shared the Boricua, “it was a drastic change and my team and I learned from the moment our hits and mistakes so now we’re working on maintaining this game like I did in Doha and Dubai which were great tournaments”.

When in Doha Puig, made it to semifinals and fell against Danish Caroline Wozniacki and when in Dubai she only reached 3R defeated by Angelique Kerber.

Up until now her best result so far, in addition to the Olympic gold, is the Strasbourg title and, although she didn’t come out victorious, the final round in Sydney last year was a great performance. This year she is back in Acapulco for the third time, where she is more than welcomed back by fans that expect to see her again after Puig’s performance last year where she was cut short during the second round.

Monica has her heart set on the title “success, to me, is to play knowing that I’m giving out my best, and to learn from every play, not so much for the result, because as long as I’m always doing my best that what will lead me to success which is being a better player and the rest will follow”.

Puig’s life has being full of lessons, perhaps the most important one is to be patient, “I understand now that I have to be patient because good opportunities come within time; I will not always win every contest and that the “best player” title will not necessarily be mine forever, but one must be very assertive and keep training day after day to reach your goals. Knowing all this gives me peace of mind”. After working so much on such virtue serenity and patience is a quality the medalist values greatly “I like those who are calm, that know how to have fun, how to handle life’s stress; there’s nothing better than a person who smiles and spreads happiness. You never know, you might brighten someone who is having a depressing day with a smile and that is always important, to brighten your days”.

The player from Puerto Rico is enjoying the moment and has a mission in mind: “I’d like to be an inspiration for young people, a role model for them to see that if you work hard daily you can accomplish anything you desire”.

Monica is getting ready for her opening tournament match against 2011 France Open finalist Francesca Schiavone from Italy and will give her absolute best to snatch the Acapulco title along with Mexican fans’ hearts.

Yoshihito Nishioka amazed the public by qualifying to the main draw at the Acapulco Open after taking down  German Tobias Kamke first and Memphis Open champ Ryan Harrison next with partials 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. This is Nishioka’s (86 ATP) first main draw since being eliminated during the same phase in previous tournaments: the Australian, Memphis and Delray Beach Open.    

Next Generation player Taylor Fritz had a fabulous comeback after taken aback during the first set and won 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 against Australian Jordan Thompson. Meanwhile Frances Tiafoe from USA imposed himself after a great battle against Molavia native Radu Albot with scores 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Fourth qualifier is USA player Stefan Kozlov that defeated fellow national Jared Donaldson 7-5 and 6-3.

In the meantime WTA player and first seed Jennifer Brady (USA) left co-national Asia Muhammad behind with a 6-1 and 6-3 score. Simultaneously, Fiona Ferro took German Tatjana Maria down by 6-4 and 6-3. Second fellow American to Brady, Jamie Loeb had no problem defeating by 6-4 and 6-0 over Marina Erakovic from New Zeland. Bethanie Mattek-Sand (USA) coiled Colombian Mariana Duque-Mariño 6-0 and 6-1. Last American to make it to the main draw is player Taylor Townsend who won over counterpart Sachia Vickery after a difficult 7-6 and 7-5 and is moving on to 1R along with Chloe Paquet (FRA) who defeated Paraguayan Veronica Cepede Royg with partials 7-5 and 6-3.