• American Ben Shelton was surprised by Belgian David Goffin in two sets.
• In the Grandstand, Czech Tomas Machac booked his ticket to the quarterfinals after eliminating Daniel Altmaier.
• Casper Ruud, Holger Rune and Tommy Paul withdrew from the tournament due to illness.

Acapulco, February 26, 2025.- No. 14 of the PIF ATP Rankings, Ben Shelton, was knocked out of the XXXII edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC after being eliminated by world No. 63, David Goffin 7-6(3), 6-3 in a one hour 45 minute duel. 

The match opened the activity of the second round of the ATP 500 at the stadium, where the 34-year-old veteran surprised the American in what was the first confrontation between the two.

“I broke once and then played a bad game, made mistakes, didn’t serve well but managed to break him back at 5-3, changed my game and looked to stay solid. Every match is difficult, Nakashima is playing well… It’s an incredible tournament to play after 6 o’clock in the evening”, said Goffin after knocking out the fifth seed of the tournament in Acapulco.

Goffin was coming off a seven-match losing streak prior to the week in Acapulco, where he debuted with a solid first-round win over Rinky Hijikata and now advanced to his first quarterfinal in Mexico. 

With 12 years of difference against his opponent, the Belgian took the first set to a tie break with the solidity of his second serve, while for the second set Shelton lost his rhythm and fight, lost his serve twice and committed four double faults.

The third day of activities at the GNP Seguros Arena started with the news of the withdrawal of the American Tommy Paul due to a stomach infection, the same way as his teammates Holger Rune and Casper Ruud.

Paul’s rival in the round of 16 was his compatriot Marcos Giron, who advanced automatically and the match between the Czech Tomas Machac and the German Daniel Altmaier was moved to the Grandstand. Although the first set was defined in a tie break in favor of the world’s 25th player, the second set looked like a routine for the 16-year-old player and in one hour and 38 minutes he eliminated the wild card and 76th ranked player 7-6(3)-6-1.

On court 2, the doubles duel took place between the duo A. Erler/C. Frantzen and A. Behar/ R. Galloway, which in an hour and a half fell after a super tiebreak 6-3, 4-6, 10-5.

• The American, seeded seventh, eliminated Muller, who was a finalist at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro.
  

Acapulco, February 25, 2025.- American Frances Tiafoe, ranked 18th in the world, defeated Frenchman Alexandre Muller to advance to the round of 16 of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC.

Tiafoe took advantage of the fact that Muller (No. 41) had reached the final of the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro last Sunday.

Tiafoe trailed 1-3 in the first set, tied it 3-3 and eventually came from behind to win 6-4. In the second set, Tiafoe put the win on track with two breaks to make it 4-1 and then clinched the set 6-2. 

In the doubles tournament, Tomas Machac and Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic defeated Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 7-5, 7-5, while Christian Harrison and Evan King of the United States beat compatriot Ben Shelton and Australian Rinky Hijikata 7-6(2), 6-2.

In other matches, Italy’s Mattia Bellucci and Flavio Cobolli lost to France’s Sadio Doumba and Fabien Reboul 4-6, 6-3, 10-4, while Mexico’s Santiago Gonzalez and Austria’s Lucas Miedler defeated top seeds Horacio Zeballos of Argentina and Jackson Withrow of the United States 7-6(1), 6-4.

• The German tennis player advanced to the round of 16 for the sixth time in his seven appearances in Acapulco.
  

Acapulco, February 25, 2025.- German tennis player Alexander Zverev, world number two and top seed at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC, advanced to the second round of the tournament, after defeating Italian Matteo Arnaldi (No.33), 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-4. 

With this victory, it is the sixth time that Zverev has advanced past the first round in Acapulco in seven participations and only once he has been knocked out in the first round, which was in the 2024 edition. 

Zverev and Arnaldi had never met on the ATP circuit. In the first set, Arnaldi showed his precision with his serve by getting four ace serves to take the set in tie break, physically demanding the German, but the second best tennis player in the world overcame to take the second and third sets with a wide advantage. 

“I feel it was a very difficult match, I think he (Arnaldi) played a fantastic first set. He played very, very well and I still had to find my rhythm on the hard court. I only had two days of practice, so in the end, I’m happy to win against a quality player. And, yes, happy to move on to the next round. I know I have to play good tennis for that (to get to No. 1 in the world). I have to win a lot of tournaments to get there and I need to improve my game. The way I played in South America is not going to be enough. I have to keep improving, I have to keep playing better. I think it was a good start here and hopefully I can play better tomorrow, better after tomorrow and then really find my rhythm in the tournament,” he said 

In another match of the day, American Brandon Nakashima (No.42) advanced to the second round of the Acapulco tournament after beating Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi (No. 62) 7-6(8), 7-5 and now his opponent will be Danish Holger Rune (No. 13) in the round of 16. 

Meanwhile, Canadian Denis Shapovalov (No. 32) knocked out American Nishesh Basavareddy (No. 106), who came from the qualifiers, 7-5, 6-2. Shapovalov will face the winner of the match between American Alex Michelsen and Chinese Bu Yunchaokete in the round of 16.

• Prior to the match, the Day of the Flag was celebrated with the display of a monumental Mexican flag on the court of the GNP Seguros Arena.
  

Acapulco, February 24, 2025.- American Tommy Paul, ranked 10th in the PIF ATP Rankings, advanced to the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC by beating Canadian Gabriel Diallo (No.89). 

Paul took advantage of his greater experience to tilt the match in his favor and defeated the Canadian, who came from the qualifiers, 6-2, 6-2 in 75 minutes of play. 

In the first set, Paul held his serve on all four of his serves and broke Diallo twice, in the third and seventh games, to make it 6-2. 

The second set followed the same path as the first. Paul took a 4-1 lead by opening with a break, defending his serve twice and adding a second break in the fifth game. He then served for 5-1, Diallo made it 5-2 and signed the set for 6-2. 

In the second round, Paul will face compatriot Marcos Giron, who defeated Australian Adam Walton.

“My first serve percentage was around 61% and I don’t think it improved in the second set. That’s something I need to improve. I had a couple of double faults to start the match, I have to start the matches well and I’m losing on second point returns, I don’t know why, some little things,” Tommy Paul acknowledged. 

Before the match, a group of soldiers performed the ceremony of the Mexican Flag Day, which is celebrated on February 24, an exciting moment for the fans, as a monumental flag was displayed on the court and covered the court of the Arena GNP Seguros. 

In another match of the opening day, the British Cameron Norrie, who came to the tournament with a wild card, and the American Learner Tien, coming from the qualifiers, the latter won 7-6 (5), 6-3. 

Tien opened the first set with a 4-1 lead after defending his serve three times and breaking Norrie in the second game, but the British player reacted to make things 4-4. Then, both broke each other’s serve and defended theirs for 6-6 and Tien defined better in the tiebreak.

The second set both reached 2-2 and Tien took it 6-3 by breaking Norrie three times, who paid the wear and tear of the first set in a match that was close to two hours long.

In the second round, Tien will play the winner of the match between top-seeded German Alexander Zverev and Italian Matteo Arnaldi.

• The American No. 14 in the world won an intense duel against Italian Flavio Cobolli.
• In the Grandstand, Belgian David Goffin defeated Australian Rinky Hijikata in two sets and will be Shelton’s opponent.

Acapulco, February 24, 2025.- Ben Shelton required two tie breaks 7-6(4), 7-6(4) to defeat in a complicated duel the Italian Flavio Cobolli (No. 39) at the Arena GNP Seguros stadium, to advance to the round of 16 of the XXXII edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC. 

“I made a lot of mistakes, today was very difficult, I didn’t have everything but I still managed to mix up my game to be able to push gas in the big moments,” assured the current No. 14 after his victory.

Since the draw was announced, the duel between the two 22-year-old talents raised many expectations due to the level of both players. It was a physically demanding duel for both and although the world No. 39 represented a tough challenge for the American in two hours of match, saving four break points in the first set and being superior with the percentage of effectiveness of his serve in the second, Shelton finally showed his best weapon, his serve with 13 aces.

“I feel good, tough match for me, but it shows I’m in good shape and I’m happy to advance. He is a great player, he has great return and for my style of play he presents many challenges” added Shelton, who has a 3-2 record in Acapulco and reached the quarterfinals in 2024.

In the Grandstand, 34-year-old veteran David Goffin advanced to the second round after defeating Australian Rinky Hijikata in two sets and will be Shelton’s next opponent.

With 10 years between the two, they had previously met twice, with one win for each. The last time, in January in Adelaide, with 24-year-old Hijikata triumphing on home soil. However, on this occasion the No. 82 in the PIF ATP Rankings had no chance against the maturity shown by the world No. 63, who did not commit a single double fault in a match that lasted 1 hour and 24 minutes.

The Belgian dominated all the statistics of the match and in the first set alone he had a 77% efficiency in points won with his first serve. Hijikata, on the other hand, saved 10 of 15 breaks and had 5 double faults throughout the match.

• The former soccer player thanked the support that professional tennis players gave to Acapulco after hurricanes Otis (2023) and John (2024).
  

Acapulco, Guerrero, February 24, 2025.- Three-time Mexican world champion Jorge Campos, originally from Acapulco, attended the first day of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC to promote the recovery of this tourist destination that suffered the passage of hurricanes Otis in 2023 and John in 2024.

“I have always felt proud to be part of Guerrero, of Acapulco, (I know) that the people of the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis are supporting Guerrero and Acapulco in these difficult times,” Campos told the media attending the coverage of the tournament.

He recalled that the Burillo family, with the company Mextenis, organizer of the tournament, “has done very well every year, in the events in which they have been involved. It is a family that I have known for many years, Mr. Alejandro Burillo and Renata Burillo. They have always been concerned about Acapulco and Guerrero. They have given everything to continue supporting this important event at world level,” he said. 

Campos, world champion in the United States 94, France 98 and Korea-Japan 2002, thanked “the professional tennis players, everyone, from various eras who sent videos on the networks, they were aware of Acapulco”.

He said that the beautiful port “is a tourist place where we have received all the people of international stature in sports, and I believe that sports have always helped, especially in the face of tragedies. Sport has always been present,” he acknowledged. 

Campos said that “the quick recovery of the city and taking into account that last year there was another hurricane (John), the port is on its feet”. 

He considered that Governor Evelyn Salgado Pineda “has done a great job in this aspect, she has been involved with many people, with many businessmen and I think she has done a very good job. It has been two very difficult years, but Acapulco is a special place”.

About what Acapulco lacks to fully recover, he expressed: “some people need to believe in us” and said that the press is an important part of transmitting what is seen in Acapulco and in the tournament. “Now that I was on the road I saw many cars and tourists coming to Acapulco, probably for the tournament”.

• With the objective of repeating the final in Acapulco, the Norwegian tennis player will know this Tuesday his opponent in the round of 16.
• Czech Tomas Machac (No. 25) will face German Daniel Altmaier (No. 76) in the second round; they have never met on the ATP tour.

Acapulco, February 24, 2025.- Norwegian tennis player Casper Ruud, World No. 5 and second seed of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC advanced to the round of 16 with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Frenchman (No. 61) in a match that lasted one hour and 42 minutes. 

Despite having a difficult start to the match after losing the first two games, the 2024 finalist recovered with a powerful serve and a solid backhand from the back of the court to take the first set. In the second set, Ruud broke Rinderknech’s serve twice to secure his ticket to the second round at the ATP 500.

“I’m honestly thinking one match at a time. Today was a good match and I will try to take advantage of it. Every match you can win here or on this surface gives you confidence, so I know what it’s like to play a final here because I did it last year, but that doesn’t mean I will do it again this year. Of course, I’m going to try to give my best, the defending champion is not here, so I’m sure there will be a new champion this year because Alex (De Miñaur) is not here, but anyone can win, there are many great players,” Ruud assured in a press conference after his victory.

At the same time, in the match that opened the Grandstand activity, German Daniel Altmaier (No. 76) overcame Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic (No. 44) by 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, who last year left him out of the tournament in the second round, so he got his revenge. That was the German’s best performance in Acapulco.

On the other hand, in one of the most even duels of the day, Czech compatriots Jakub Mensik (No. 54) and Tomas Machac (No. 25) faced each other, with Menchac winning 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 to get his seventh victory of the current season and his first win in the AMT.

It will be the first time that Machac and Altmaier will face each other on the ATP Tour as professionals, they have only played once and that was at the junior tournament in Antalya, Turkey, in 2019, with victory for the Czech tennis player on clay court.