- “It’s fantastic to be able to give a little bit of light to this fantastic city, I’m sure Acapulco will shine stronger than ever… Acapulco is already my second city,” said the Australian tennis player.
- De Miñaur added the eighth championship of his career, seven of them on hard court
Acapulco, March 3, 2024 – After 12 long years, the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC has a new two-time champion as Australian Alex de Miñaur was crowned for the second consecutive year after defeating Norwegian Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4.
The match was a complete spectacle from start to finish with De Minaur pressing and attacking over the net and an aggressive strategy from the first set to physically demand his opponent, breaking his serve in the first set and taking advantage of five unforced errors by the Norwegian.
In the second set. Casper tried to come back taking advantage of the three unforced errors made by Alex at the beginning of the game and a couple of double faults in his serve; however, the Australian recovered and came from behind to take the set and the victory.
With this triumph, Alex became the fourth player in the history of the tournament to win a two-time championship, joining the feats of Austrian Thomas Muster when the tournament was still played in Mexico City (winning the 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996 editions), Spaniard Nicolas Almagro (winner of the 2008 and 2009 editions already in Acapulco) and David Ferrer (three-time champion in 2010, 2011 and 2012).
“I want to thank the people who have made this tournament possible, all the fans and the city that has suffered in recent months. It’s fantastic to be able to give a little bit of light to this fantastic city, I’m sure Acapulco will shine stronger than ever… Acapulco is already my second city,” commented De Miñaur after receiving the champion’s trophy.
The Australian reached the eighth championship of his career, seven of them on hard court and two of them on Acapulco’s court, and warned that he will return in 2025 to try to defend his title and seek the tri-championship.
At the awards ceremony, the audience chanted the name of Acapulco for several seconds and applauded the effort made by the city and the organization to make the tournament possible 129 days after the passage of Hurricane Otis.
Casper Ruud also expressed his gratitude for these two weeks in Mexico, first at Los Cabos Open and later in Acapulco where he demonstrated the quality he has as a tennis player, reaching the final in both tournaments.
“It has been a fantastic two weeks in Mexico, I am grateful to the public, the organization and the players who competed at a very high level. The tennis is fantastic, the message is one of total support for all the people of Acapulco and we are all very happy to have participated and looking forward to returning as always,” said the Norwegian.
The champion’s trophy was awarded to Marcela Velasco Cámara, Telcel’s Corporate Marketing Director, while the second place trophy was presented by Jorge Arturo Arce Gama, General Director of HSBC Mexico.
Also present at the closing ceremony were Alvaro Falla, Director of Mextenis, Renata Burillo, President of the Board of Directors of Mextenis and Grupo Pegaso, as well as Geoffrey Fernandez, Director of Operations of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC. Also present was Ali Nani, supervisor of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
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