• This Monday 14 matches will be played, 8 in singles and 6 in doubles, with Mexicans Rodrigo Pacheco and Miguel Angel Reyes Varela looking for their pass to the second round. 

Acapulco, February 26, 2024.- Germany’s Alexander Zverev, Denmark’s Holger Rune, Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, Norway’s Casper Ruud and the United States’ Frances Tiafoe are in action on the second day of the XXXI edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC, being played this week in Acapulco.

The players are five of the top eight seeds Zverev (1), Rune (2), Tsitsipas (5), Ruud (6) and Tiafoe (8).

In addition, the recent champion of the Los Cabos Open, Australian Jordan Thompson; German Dominik Koepfer and Mexican junior Rodrigo Pacheco will also be playing.

Zverev opens against his compatriot Daniel Altmaier; Rune against American Michale Mmoh; Tsitsipas against Roman Safiulin; Ruud against American Christopher Eubanks and Tiafoe against Australian Max Purcell.

While Thompson will play against American Aleksandar Kovacevic, Koepfer against Frenchman Terence Atmane and Mexican Pacheco against Serbian Dusan Lajovic.

In doubles, Mexico’s Reyes Varela and Argentina’s Guido Andreozzi face Hugo Nys of Monaco and Jan Zielinsky of Poland; Austria’s Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler take on Portugal’s Francisco Cabral and Nuno Borges. 

Brothers Stefanos and Petros Tistsipas against American Robert Galloway and Australian Julian Cash and Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic and Roman Safiulin against France’s Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul.

In a repeat of the doubles final in Los Cabos, Australians Purcell and Thompson against Gonzalo Escobar of Ecuador and Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan; Britons Henry Patte and Daniel Evans against Romain Arneodo of Monaco and Sam Weissborn of Austria.

The singles champions in the last five years of the tournament are Juan Martin del Potro (2018), Nick Kyrgios (2019), Rafael Nadal (2020 and 2022), Alexander Zverev (2021) and Alex de Miñaur (2023).

• Two of the four favorites in the Top 15 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings claimed a win on the first day of main draw action
• Shelton and de Miñaur won at the Stadium, while World No. 13 Tommy Paul, a 2023 finalist, was eliminated by Jack Draper

Acapulco, February 26, 2024.- It was a dream start to the tournament for two of the favorites on the opening day and, on the other hand, a surprise for 2023 finalist Tommy Paul. Defending champion Alex de Miñaur and Ben Shelton advanced to the second round after securing victories two of the matches at the Mextenis Stadium.

The young American sensation, Ben Shelton, opened the match at 18:00 hrs against British Daniel Evans, who managed to take advantage in a surprising first set with more first serve winners (91%) and despite the fact that the world No. 16 had a better percentage of effectiveness.

Evans took advantage of a double fault, the few points converted on Shelton’s second serve and his almost no return to surprise the favorite; However, in the second set the 21 year old relied on his best weapon, his serve, to get into the match and finally beat Evans 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) in two hours 44 minutes of duel and where although the statistics did not favor him, he finished with 12 aces 

key to his victory, one that also comes 30 years after his father and coach, Bryan Shelton, also got a victory in the Mexican tournament.

“I really like the courts here, it’s great conditions for tennis, it’s humid but not that humid, there’s a great atmosphere in the central stadium. I had to change some things in my game to improve my consistency until I felt comfortable in the match, I was making a lot of mistakes,” he assured in press conference after his victory, and detailed what he hopes to work on this year “I don’t have so many specific goals and the ones I have I try to keep with my team, I want to play more at the net, improve my serve and be a better player in general.”

Regarding Acapulco he added “I feel like the whole point of us being here is to bring something positive to Acapulco and we are all focusing on that.”

At the end of his match, it was the turn of defending champion Alex de Miñaur, who defeated Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-2, 6-1 in just one hour and 19 minutes. “I am very happy to get my first win in Mexico, last week was not the way I wanted so I needed this victory to regain my confidence and it is a good base to keep pushing. Nothing changed, I just got used to the conditions better, in Los Cabos everything was very fast. I’m not going to say that I’m at my best level, but I feel better on the track”.

Finally, it was the turn of Taylor Fritz, the fourth seeded American, who suffered a close match against another young revelation in recent months on the tour, the Italian Matteo Arnaldi.

The world No. 42 took the lead after the first set on the main court after being solid with his first serve, scoring five aces and 80% of converted points. For the second set, Fritz returned the five aces and broke him in two occasions and evened a duel that already in the early morning definition at the Arena GNP Seguros complex, ended up being the second great surprise of the day with the elimination of the world No. 10. Five Americans out of seven remain at the start of the competition.

• Escobedo said goodbye to the tournament after a game that lasted more than three hours and was defined in a tie break against Austrian Sebastien Ofner. 
• One of the surprises of the first round was the elimination of American Tommy Paul, finalist in the 2023 edition. 

Acapulco February 27, 2024.- Mexican tennis player Ernesto Escobedo (No. 493) was eliminated in the first round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC in an intense match that was defined in tie break after three hours and three minutes of play where Austrian Sebastien Ofner (No. 37) beat him 7-6, 4-6, 7-6.

Escobedo, 27 years old and who arrived as a wild card to Acapulco, started winning the first set avoiding unforced errors; however, the Austrian player evened the game and in the third set sealed his pass to the second round supported by his service hitting 14 aces. Now, Ofner will face Australian Alex de Miñaur, current Acapulco champion. 

This is the third time that Escobedo has lost in the first round of the Acapulco tournament, after losing to Brandon Holt in 2023 and to Daniel Altmaier in 2022. 

In another of Monday’s matches, British tennis player Jack Draper (No. 50) beat American Tommy Paul (No. 14) 6-0, 6-4 in a match that only lasted 86 minutes, being one of the surprises of the first round of the XXXI edition of the ATP 500.

Paul, seeded seventh in the tournament, was a finalist last year in Acapulco and was considered one of the favorite players to reach the final rounds.

In the last match played at the Grandstand, Italian tennis player Flavio Cobolli (No. 69) surprised by advancing to the second round by beating Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 30) in three sets. Cobolli is coming from the qualifying round and his opponent in the second round will be the winner of the match between Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 12) and Russian Roman Safiullin (No.39).

• Mexican tennis draws in the opening day of doubles at the Arena GNP Seguros complex.

Acapulco, February 26, 2024.- Santiago Gonzalez had a triumphant debut in the XXXI edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC, while Hans Hach Verdugo was eliminated at the beginning of the doubles tournament this Monday.

What could have been a perfect day for Mexican tennis representatives, ended with a win and a loss in the doubles draw in Acapulco.

Santiago Gonzalez and Briton Neal Skupski, top seeds, made the prediction valid by beating American William Blumberg and Norwegian Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and three minutes of play.

It was a hard-fought first set, which was decided with a break in the eighth game, and from there Santi and Skupski imposed their hierarchy to score the victory.

“It was not an easy match, especially in the first set. I’m happy to advance to the second round. We took advantage of the opportunities we had. The key was that we always looked for more”, explained the player from Veracruz, who thanked the warm support of the public on court 1 of the Arena GNP Seguros tennis complex.

Gonzalez and Skupski will face the winner of Tuesday’s match between Evans and Patten and Arneodo and Weissborn in the quarterfinals.

On court 2, the Latin American duo formed by Mexican Hans Hach Verdugo and Venezuelan Luis David Martinez lost a dramatic 4-6, 6-3, 7-10 defeat to Finnish Harri Heliovaara and Australian John Peers, in just over an hour and a half of play.

After getting the ticket via lucky loser to the main draw of the doubles tournament, Hach and Verdugo came from behind in front of the support in the stands to overcome a one-set deficit and extend the outcome to the third and final set, where they had a 6-3 advantage, but lost six unanswered points and sealed their fate.

Already in the first set, the crowd favorites had paid dearly for their mistakes, when the Mexican left-hander smashed a volley in the fourth game to give up the break and allow his rivals to take the set.

However, in the second game, they broke from the first game and from there they held their serve with category to tie the hostilities, however, they fell apart when they had a 6-3 advantage over Heliovaara and Peers, who knew how to grow to take the match in a heroic way.

• The Australian arrives in Acapulco as No. 38 after defeating Casper Ruud in the Los Cabos final and moving up eight spots in the world rankings
• Jordan was last in the Acapulco main draw in 2019, where he lost to American Frances Tiafoe in the first round

Acapulco, February 26, 2024.- Australian tennis player Jordan Thompson (No. 38) assured to be already focused on the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC after lifting his first titles in the ATP circuit, twice, by being crowned in singles and doubles at the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo in Los Cabos. 

Thompson arrives in Acapulco ranked 38th in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after moving up eight places in the world rankings after winning the championship last Saturday against Norwegian Casper Ruud. 

“I’m happy to be in this tournament (Acapulco). I’m going to play point for point, I think that’s the most important thing, I’m concentrating and focused on this tournament. I have to keep my mentality in tennis matches,” he assured. 

The last time Thompson was in the main draw of Acapulco was in 2019, where he lost to the American Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 4-6, 3-6 to say goodbye in the first round. 

The final in Los Cabos against Ruud lasted just over two hours, so the Australian tennis player seeks to recover as soon as possible from the physical issue, “physically they have been complicated days because of the number and duration of the matches, but I’m happy to be in Acapulco now,” he said. 

Jordan, 29, makes his debut in the second day of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC against American Aleksandar Kovacevic (No. 93), 25, who was one of the four players who got his ticket in the qualifying round of the weekend. 

• Álvaro Falla, tournament director, gives an emotional welcome to the start of the 2024 edition.
• Highlighted the great response from players, fans, Acapulco residents and authorities

Acapulco, February 26, 2024.- Álvaro Falla, director of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC, welcomed the XXXI edition of the tournament, which will be played from Monday, February 26 through Saturday, March 2 at the GNP Seguros Arena tennis complex in Acapulco.

In a press conference prior to the start of the tournament, the executive was pleased with the arrival of the zero hour, because it will show that the tournament is more alive than ever after the tourist destination suffered the devastating impact of Hurricane Otis at the end of October 2023.

“The long-awaited zero hour has arrived, for which we have worked so long and made so much effort. Today what we are giving for Acapulco becomes a reality. This is our contribution and our grain of sand,” said the executive in relation to the reconstruction in which Mextenis has taken a leading role.

Falla expressed his gratitude to the people of Acapulco and authorities at different levels of government, but also to the players, since all those who had committed to play in the tournament have complied with their attendance, except for two who could not come for other reasons such as injuries. But, undoubtedly, the solidarity and commitment of the tennis players is worthy of recognition, said Falla.

At the ticket offices, he pointed out, the enthusiasm of the fans to attend the matches has been evident, lining up to buy tickets for Monday’s opening day, although he acknowledged that attendance may decrease due to the damage suffered by the port’s lodging infrastructure. 

Even so, he said, the goal is to reach 70% of the capacity in general terms. The GNP Seguros Arena has capacity for 10,000 fans and the Grandstand, the second in capacity, for 3,000.

Pleased with the response of the public, not only those who usually travel to Acapulco to watch the tournament but also the local fans who have shown their interest in attending the games, Falla emphasized that the facilities of the tennis complex are completely ready, even in better conditions than before the impact of the meteor.

He explained that the main stadium did not suffer structural damage; it was only necessary to work on the refurbishment of decorative walls, renovate warehouses, improve offices and redesign the food and beverage area, which year after year usually has a large number of fans.

The tournament has assumed an outstanding participation in the reconstruction of Acapulco, not only by making contributions from the box office takings, but also by promoting the tournament on which more than 11,000 families depend during its development, including hotel workers, local commerce and tournament workers, as well as participating in the reconstruction of housing through the Asociación Construyendo, in collaboration with Mextenis.

In sports matters, Alvaro Falla confirmed the 125th Challenger in Acapulco in April, which will be part of a tour of tournaments of its kind that includes events in San Luis Potosi, Mexico City, Cuernavaca and finally Acapulco.

“The Acapulco Challenger is a fact, it’s on the calendar. We are going to organize it. You can count on it to be an event of great category,” said the director, who recalled that Mextenis organized the Challenger of Leon last year and among more than 100 tournaments of its kind, it was recognized as the number one.

• Everything is ready for the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC to begin this Monday; Flavio Cobolli, Térence Atmane, Aleksandar Kovacevic and Michael Mmoh advanced to the main draw in Acapulco.
• Mexico’s Hans Hach Verdugo and Venezuela’s Luis David Martinez lost to the British duo of Daniel Evans and Henry Patten. 

Acapulco, February 25, 2024 – The main draw of the Abierto Mexicanos de Tenis presented by HSBC was completed with the main draw tickets for Italian Flavio Cobolli (No. 69), Frenchman Térence Atmane (No. 145) and Americans Aleksandar Kovacevic (No. 100) and Michael Mmoh (No.122). 

Italian Flavio Cobolli (No. 69) outlasted Frenchman Constant Lestienne (No. 104) 7-5, 3-6, 6-0 in a match that lasted two hours and six minutes, while American Aleksandar Kovacevic (No. 100) forced a third set to beat Australian Rinky Hijikata (No. 79) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 in a tie break.

Frenchman Térence Atmane (No. 145) overcame American Zachary Svajda (No. 139) by 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 using the power of his serve to score eight aces. 

Meanwhile, American Michael Mmoh (No. 122) defeated Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (No. 84) 6-2, 1-6, 6-0 to reach the first round of the tournament in Acapulco. 

In the doubles match, the British duo of Daniel Evans and Henry Patten advanced to the main draw of the Abierto Mexicanos de Tenis presented by HSBC by defeating Mexico’s Hans Hach Verdugo and Venezuela’s Luis David Martinez 6-4, 7-6, 10-8, in the match that closed the day on Sunday. 

• On Monday, 10 matches will be played, 8 singles and two doubles, with Mexicans 
• Ernesto Escobedo and Santiago Gonzalez in search of the second round.

Acapulco, February 25, 2024.- The main draw activity of the XXXI edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC, to be played this week in Acapulco, starts this Monday with eight matches in singles and two in doubles.

The first to enter the competition are three of the top eight seeds, Australian Alex De Miñaur (3) and Americans Taylor Fritz (4) and Tommy Paul (7).

Also in the day’s action will be American sensation Ben Shelton (No. 16), Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, Argentine Diego Schwartzman and Mexican Ernesto Escobedo, the latter two having reached the main draw via wildcard.

De Miñaur, defending champion, opens against Japan’s Taro Daniel; Fritz against Italian junior Matteo Arnaldi and Paul, 2023 finalist, against Briton Jack Draper, while Shelton faces another Briton, Daniel Evans, and Auger-Aliassime against a player from the qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Schwartzman will play against Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic and Mexican Escobedo against Austrian Sebastian Ofner. The day will be completed by the Portuguese Nuno Borges against a player from the qualifiers.

In doubles, Mexican Santiago Gonzalez and British Neal Skupski, top favorites, will face Norwegian Casper Ruud and American William Blumberg and in another match, Australian John Peers and Finnish Harri Heliovaara will face Australian Rinky Hijikata and British Joe Salisbury. 

The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC in its XXXI edition, to be played from February 26 to March 2 in Acapulco, will feature nine players ranked in the Top 20 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and four of them are in the Top 10.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev (No.6), Denmark’s Holger Rune (No.7), Australia’s Alex de Miñaur (No.9), reigning champion of the tournament, and American Taylor Fritz (No.10) head the list of players.

They are joined by Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (No.11), Norwegian Casper Ruud (No.12) and Americans Tommy Paul (No.14) -finalist in 2023, Frances Tiafoe (No.15), and Ben Shelton (No.16), as well as Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime (No.29).

The champions in recent years of the tournament are Juan Martin del Potro (2018), Nick Kyrgios (2019), Rafael Nadal (2020 and 2022), Alexander Zverev (2021) and Alex de Miñaur (2023).

• Mexico’s Hans Hach Verdugo and Venezuela’s Luis David Martinez beat Sweden’s Andre Goransson and France’s Constant Lestienne 6-2, 6-3 to earn their ticket to the main draw of the doubles tournament. 
• This Sunday will define the four tickets to the main draw of Acapulco.

Acapulco, February 24, 2024.- Mexican tennis player Alan Rubio Fierros (No. 756) was eliminated in the first day of the qualy round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC after losing 6-2, 6-1 to Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (No.84). 

The XXXI edition of the tournament that takes place in Acapulco began with interesting matches, where the Italian Flavio Cobolli (No. 69) defeated 6-3, 0-6, 7-5 the American Brandon Holt (No. 295) demonstrating a powerful serve to get five “ace” services and this Sunday will face for a ticket to the main draw against the French Constant Lestienne (No. 104), who defeated 6-4, 6-4 the British Liam Broady (No. 123).

Frenchman Terence Atmane (No. 145) beat Australian Aleksandar Vukic (No. 72) 6-4, 6-3, while American Zachary Svajda (No. 139) advanced against Australian James Duckworth (No. 98) 6-3, 1-1 and Duckworth retired. Now, Atmane and Svajda will be looking for a ticket to the first round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC.

Another player who retired after 22 minutes of play in this qualifying phase was Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis (No. 103) after being down 4-1 in the first set against American Michael Mmoh (No. 122), who advanced. 

Colombian Nicolas Mejia (No. 400) was unfortunately also eliminated against Aleksandar Kovacevic (No. 100) and the American will try to qualify for the tournament against Australian Rinky Hijikata (No. 79), who won 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in an intense duel with Japanese Shintaro Mochizuki (No. 138).

In doubles, Mexicans Manuel Sánchez Montemayor and Emiliano Aguilera lost 6-3, 6-1 to British Daniel Evans and Henry Patten, but Mexico’s Hans Hach Verdugo, teaming up with Venezuelan Luis David Martínez, defeated Sweden’s Andre Goransson and France’s Constant Lestienne 6-2, 6-3.