• The Australian eliminates Holger Rune to reach the title match. His opponent presented physical problems from the second forward.

Acapulco, March 4th – The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC had a surprise in store on the second to last day of the XXX edition. While the ranking said that Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune could face each other in the final, Tommy Paul and Alex De Minaur each giving the surprise in the semifinals by reaching the final match.

The Australian came into the match against Rune without loosing a set in the whole tournament. De Minaur faced his toughest test so far and although the match did not start in the best way, he managed the comeback to get the ticket to the final and his first victory over Holger.

Rune took the first set after showing a great level, as he had done during the tournament. With his serve he had very few faults and soon took a 6-3 lead to dream about the final.

However, Alex remained competitive and saved several break points to hold on to the second set. Rune’s physical problems began to appear and so did the errors, which cost the Dane the possibility of closing the match in straight sets, allowing the Australian to even the scores.

De Minaur took advantage of his opponent’s vulnerability and quickly took a 3-0 lead in the final set. Rune’s level dropped along with his physicality. Holger refused to back down, but it became increasingly difficult for him to keep  the pace of his opponent. Alex closed out the match with a final score of 3-6, 7-5 and 6-2.

“I’m very happy because it was a very big effort and there is one more match left, so I´ll try to enjoy and play the best tennis possible. It will be a completely new day and I’m ready for the final battle. The support of the fans here in Acapulco is something incredible. Staying until 3 o’clock in the morning”, shared De Minaur after getting the win, knowing what awaits him in the final.

• The winners will receive 500 points and the finalists 300.

Acapulco, March 3rd – On the fifth and second to last day of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC, the pairs that will dispute the final in the doubles tournament were defined.

The duo formed by Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler, both from Austria, were the surprise pair in the AMT doubles final after beating the top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski, from the Netherlands, 6-4, 4-6, 10-4.

The Austrians will face Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow of the United States in the final, who defeated Sweden’s Andre Goransson and Japan’s Ben McLachlan 5-7, 7-6(2), 13-11.

The four seeded couples fell back and now there will be a new champion couple in Acapulco. In addition to the trophy, the winners will receive 500 points and 123,710 dollars and the runners-up 300 points and $65,980 dollars.

• The Dane made it to the semifinals after beating Berrettini.
• He shared the importance of staying focused to try to reach the final.

Acapulco, March 3.- The lower part of the main draw suffered surprise exits, both the elimination of Casper Ruud and the retirement of Matteo Berrettini. However, Holger Rune raises his hand as the main favorite for the title in that section. For the Dane, the crowd has been a factor, as has his concentration.

“I think the fans are amazing, they have shown me a lot of support at times, they have great energy. I really enjoy playing in Mexico,” Rune recalls about his first participation in a professional tournament in our country.

Regarding what he might encounter with De Minaur, Holger remembers the times he has had to face him and the complex challenge that the Australian means. He recognizes that he will have to be focused to have a chance of taking the match.

“I expect a tough match. Alex always offers tough matches. I played against him twice last year, it was very tough. I have to be 100%, be sharp, take the things I did well today for tomorrow and go for it, that’s what I did today,” Rune said.

“At the moment I take one match at a time. I try to focus on tomorrow’s match. I don’t even remember who are in the other semifinal, so I just focus on Alex tomorrow. I have to be 100% focused on my thing, go out and have fun,” expressed the Dane.

Beyond Matteo’s withdrawal on Thursday night, Holger highlights the good level he showed against one of the toughest opponents of the tournament. He then commented that he will need to be just as focused for his semifinal match.

“I was feeling very good. I think I was playing very disciplined, very solid, I was sticking to the tactic almost every point. Very happy with how I handled the situation. Naturally wish Berrettini the best, it’s never good to end a match like that but if I look at it from my side I played a very solid match,” Holger explained.

• Taylor wins again in straight sets to reach the semifinals of the tournament and extended his winning streak against Tiafoe with a 6-1 record in his favor.

Acapulco, March 2nd – The American (US) Taylor Fritz, third seed and also in great shape, defeated his compatriot Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC and raises his hand to become the top favorite for the title in Acapulco. The American is still without losing a set after coming from behind against John Isner and is in the semifinals.

Fritz took the match against Tiafoe, who put up a fight but not enough to hold off the current No. 5 in the world. The direct match already looked favorable towards Taylor, but in the AMT he confirmed his condition of favorite with a more than convincing performance in the Arena GNP Seguros stadium.

The American conceded four break points during the whole match, but he managed to save them both with his opponent’s hits and misses. Tiafoe, on the other hand, only faced three break points but gave up his serve on a couple of occasions in the first set, enough for Fritz to take the first set and then the victory.

Taylor commanded from the back of the court. His forehand became his main weapon taking the initiative first. In defense he was also very correct and made very few unforced errors, most of them when he was on the return and had more room to try new things.

The crowd tried to encourage Tiafoe to have a longer match, but the Marylander was unable to convert any of the break points that would have brought him back into the match. Frances had to settle for a couple of points that caused the unanimous applause of the audience that enjoyed the duel between Americans that ended with a 6-4 in the second set.

Taylor Fritz’s opponent in the semifinals will be another American: Tommy Paul. The Australian Open semifinalist also delivered a convincing performance against Mackenzie McDonald, whom he defeated with a double 6-2.

• The American advanced to the semifinals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC.
• Alex de Minaur also advanced after eliminating Japan’s Taro Daniel.

Acapulco, March 2 – The American Tommy Paul, seeded seventh, showed that the semifinal of the Australian Open was not a coincidence, that he is living his best moment as a professional tennis player and that he did not come to Acapulco just to enjoy the good weather. At 25 years old and ranked No. 23 in the ATP ranking, his result in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC catapults him to be a protagonist in the upcoming tournaments.

In the round of the best eight he defeated his compatriot Mackenzie McDonald in just one hour by 6-2, 6-2 and now he will face another representative of the American team, the world No. 5, Taylor Fritz.

With a solid first serve at 77% efficiency, the quarterfinal challenge for the New Jersey-born Paul seemed like a cakewalk after he broke serve to the No. 62 on four occasions. However, on Friday against Fritz he will have to be at his best as he trails his contemporary 2-1 in the head-to-head.

In the second round at the Arena GNP Seguros stadium, the dream of Japanese surprise package Taro Daniel (No. 125), who had eliminated top seed Casper Ruud in three sets, came to an end when he faced Australian Alex de Minaur. The No. 22, who in turn had eliminated Mexican Rodrigo Pacheco in the first round, had few complications and in one hour and 38 minutes, defeated his Japanese rival by the same score 6-2, 6-2. Now he faces the biggest challenge of his week in Acapulco by reaching the semifinals.

• The Baja Californian player is the best professional tennis player Mexico has ever produced

Acapulco, March 1st – The organizers of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC paid tribute to a legend of Mexican tennis: Raul Ramírez, the best professional tennis player the country has ever produced.

On the court of the Arena GNP Seguros stadium, Ramírez’s family received a tribute to his outstanding and brilliant career, which was recognized by the fans who gave him a long applause.

The Mexican was ranked No. 4 in the world singles rankings and No. 1 in doubles in November of 1976. During his career, which lasted from 1973 to 1984, Ramírez won 60 titles, a few achievements that brought greatness to Mexican tennis.

Of those titles, 19 were in singles and 60 in doubles, including the Rome Masters (1975) and Monte Carlo (1978). He was also the only Mexican to have reached the semifinals in singles at Wimbledon in 1976.

Ramírez served as an inspiration for his predecessors, shining in an era in which he competed with great players of his time, among them, Björn Borg, Guillermo Vilas, Illie Nastase & Jimmy Connors.

• The Italian wanted no surprises in his second match at the AMT 2023.
• F. Tiafoe (No. 15), T. Paul (No. 23), A. de Minaur (No. 22) and M. McDonald (No. 62) also advance.

Acapulco, March 1st – The third day of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC saw some surprises in the singles draw with the departure of Norwegian Casper Ruud, top seed after the withdrawals of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaráz.

However, to the delight of the fans, most of the favorites advanced, including Italian Matteo Berrettini, who has won the affection of the Mexican public for his charisma. The current No. 24 stopped Swedish, Elias Ymer in one hour 36 minutes with a 6-3 double split and will now face Top 10 Holger Rune, another favorite who is still alive.

“I liked the conditions since last year, it’s not bad here. I’ve played two solid matches after so long without playing. I trained hard the last month. My game is working well, I’m happy with my level, we reached the most important part of the tournament,” said the Italian.

On the other hand, three representatives from the United States also reached the quarterfinals. Frances Tiafoe dismissed Feliciano López from Acapulco and confirmed that he´s at his best level in his visit to Mexico. Later Tommy Paul (No. 23) advanced after the retirement of Michael Mmoh, whom he was beating 6-4, 2-2.

The Australian Open semifinalist will now face another talent under the American flag as Mackenzie McDonald (No. 62), who in turn surprised B. Nakashima 6-2, 6-0.

Finally, the dream of Matteo’s younger brother Jacopo Berrettini came to an end after falling to Alex de Minaur (No. 22) 6-1, 6-0.

• The 41-year-old Spaniard bids farewell to Acapulco, one of his favorite tournaments.

Acapulco, March 1st – Feliciano López has been one of the most consistent tennis players over the last decade at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC. That consistancy and his love for Mexico and the tournament have allowed him to say goodbye as a professional player this 2023, an announcement he made last december and precisely,this news and last participation, gives a nostalgic touch to the XXX edition.

“I am happy to be here for another year. I still can compete, I have prepared myself to say goodbye as I always wanted, beyond winning or losing. You have to cope with the sadness of not having to chase that yellow ball around the world anymore… I played my last Wimbledon and when it was over I had the feeling that it was time, that my moment had come, that I had enjoyed a lot, specially the last few years, because many beautiful things happened to me that I did not expect” shared from Acapulco the current doubles champion.

Unfortunately his partner in the Mexican ATP 500, Stefanos Tsitsipas, got injured before the tournament and Feliciano could not find another partner to defend the title. He totaled six in doubles over a two-decade career and seven in singles. “The only fear I had… well, I’m still afraid because when you’ve been doing something for 20 years, you’re always afraid of what comes next. That happens to a lot of players and athletes, they’re afraid to retire because they don’t know what’s going to happen after tennis. In the end we have been doing this all our lives. For as long as I can remember I’ve had a racket in my hand, traveling all over the world,” he added at the beginning of his farewell tour.

A professional since 1997, the Spaniard reached No. 12 in 2017 at the age of 35 and for the same reason he defends veteran tennis players.

“The decision was made by me, it’s a conversation that arose with my closest environment, they asked me when? At first I was a little annoyed by the question. The last 10 years I have been asked, over and over again,but things were going well. The tennis players of another era, from the age of 30 is usually an age where they used to retire for one reason or another, now we see that careers are much longer, some play well at their 40’s. From the age of 30 onwards everyone starts to retire, and you listen to all the excuses ; Hey ‘leave me alone, I’m fine, I’m doing what I like’. I’ve always taken it differently, I play for a year and think about the future. I’ve been very lucky, I haven’t had any injuries, it’s been a wonderful last stage”.

Feliciano will face today in the second round of the Acapulco Open 500 the American(US) Frances Tiafoe, an opponent who is on the rise.

• The young Mexican shared his experience competing at the Arena GNP Seguros in his first match at a ATP 500 level.
• Pacheco accepted that the crowd helped him but it was also a huge pressing factor during his match.

Acapulco, February 28th – The desire to see a Mexican in the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC will still have to wait. Rodrigo Pacheco lost to Alex De Minaur in the first round and after the duel he shared how he lived one of the most important nights of his career so far.

“When I entered the court it was very nice, it was incredible, I felt a nice and beautiful energy, such a great emotion and huge adrenaline when everyone was cheering for me. The fans were very nice today, they applauded me so much and showed me how much they loved me. In the end, things didn’t work out, but I’ll keep all the good things from the match,” said Pacheco.

Rodrigo recalled that last season he had an invitation to the qualifying round and that in the Los Cabos Open he made his debut in the ATP Tour. However, he considers his match against Alex De Minaur to have been the best of those three experiences so far.

“Today I played much better than last year and than in Los Cabos (…) I had never played in a stadium as big as this one and even less with this much crowd. The truth is that it could have worked against me a little bit (…) At my young age, sometimes I don’t know how to turn that into something positive, how to relax”, accepted the Mexican.

Regarding his level, Pacheco acknowledged that he faced one of the best players in the world and despite the score, he felt competitive during the match. He also recalled that he is still one of the best juniors in the world and that he hopes to be able to transfer that to the professional circuit at some point.

“Emotions got the best of me, I put a little more pressure on myself than I should have (…) I did get very nervous more than anything because I wanted to give a great performance to the whole crowd. Sometimes I worry a lot about things I shouldn’t worry about and I put huge pressure on myself. I thank all the public for the cheers and for giving me that great match because they helped me but sometimes I just backfires on myself for the same reasons,” Rodrigo finished.

Pacheco said that for this year he will try to stay in the junior tournaments but he will also continue to play in the Challenger circuit to keep collecting more ATP points. Surely his next experience at a ATP level will come again at Los Cabos Open.

• The top seeds in doubles advance to the second round.

Mexico’s Miguel Reyes-Varela and Hans Hach Verdugo were defeated 7-6(5), 6-3 by the British pair of Neal Skupski and Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands, the top seeds of the AMT 2023 doubles tournament.

It was a good challenge for the favorites as the Mexicans handed out their defeat by taking the first set to a tiebreak in which they failed at the crucial moment, in the last two points. The second set was also for the winners side

On the other hand, the duo formed by the Salvadoran Marcelo Arévalo and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer, second seeds, were beaten by the Brazilian Rafael Matos and the Spaniard David Vega Hernández by a score of 6-2, 3-6, 10-2.

Meanwhile, fourth seeded Jamie Murray of Great Britain and Michael Venus of New Zealand were eliminated by Austrians Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler by scores of 6-3, 6-7(7), 11-9.On Wednesday, Mexican Santiago González and Frenchman Eduard Roger-Vesselin will face Americans (US) Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow and Colombians Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal, third seeds, will face Americans (US) Mackenzie McDonald and Ben Shellton.