Alex de Minaur Defeats Casper Ruud to Win Second Straight Mexican Open Title

Make that back-to-back titles for Alex de Minaur. 

The 25-year-old Spanish & Uruguayan Australian tennis player defeated Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to become the first player to win back-to back titles in the Mexican Open since 2012.

Alex de MinaurThe third-seeded de Minaur won his eighth ATP title to become the fourth player to repeat as champion in Mexico and the first since David Ferrer in 2010-12.

de Minaur won his 10th consecutive match in Acapulco to break a four-match losing streak in ATP finals, including in Rotterdam earlier this year.

“Acapulco is becoming like a second home,” De Minaur said. “I thought that it was impossible to get feel better after what happened last year, but I came back a year later to defend the title and it has been true pleasure.”

Alex de Minaur The sixth-seeded Ruud missed the chance to win his 11th title in the ATP and his first ATP 500 title.

de Minaur took an early break to take a 3-1 lead in the first set before both hold their serve for the 6-4 score.

In the second set, both players exchanged breaks in the first four games and de Minaur got a break in the seventh game to take the lead.

The Mexican Open was nearly canceled because a Category 5 hurricane hit the city four months ago, leaving 52 people dead. The Diamond Zone, an oceanfront area replete with hotels and where the tennis arena is located, was devastated.

“We wanted to bring some joy to this wonderful city,” de Minaur said, “and I’m sure that Acapulco will shine stronger than ever.”

Alex de Minaur Outlasts Stefanos Tsitsipas to Advance to Mexican Open Semifinals

Alex de Minaur is celebrating a hard-fought win at the Mexican Open.

The 25-year-old Spanish & Uruguayan Australian tennis player, the defending champion, rallied past Stefanos Tsitsipas 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday to book a second straight spot in the semifinals of the Mexican Open.

Alex de Minaurde Minaur, the ATP’s ninth-ranked player, struggled in the first set and lost it in 28 minutes but rallied in the next two to get the win in 2 hours, 6 minutes.

“It was a tough match. It was not very spectacular because the wind made it hard for both of us,” said de Minaur, who broke a 10-match losing streak to the No. 12 Tsitsipas. “My first win against Tsitsipas was meant to be in Acapulco, a place of great memories.”

In the semifinals, the third-seeded De Minaur will meet Jack Draper, who ousted Miomir Kecmanovic 6-2, 6-2.

de Minaur has won eight matches in a row in Mexico and became the first defending champion in Acapulco to reach the semifinals the following year since David Ferrer in 2013.

Tsitsipas was aiming for his third semifinal in Acapulco.

Alex de Minaur Defeats Tommy Paul to Win Mexican Open

It’s Lucky No. 7 for Alex de Minaur.

The 24-year-old Uruguayan & Spanish Australian professional tennis player rallied to win the biggest title of his career, beating Tommy Paul 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Saturday night in the final of the Mexican Open.

Alex de Minaurde Minaur won his seventh career title and first at the ATP 500 level.

He won his previous six titles at ATP 250 events, most recently last year at Atlanta.

de Minaur will move to No. 18 in the rankings.

His career-best ranking is No. 15 in 2021.

Paul had reached the final by beating fifth-ranked Taylor Fritz on Friday in a match that lasted 3 hours, 25 minutes. He has one career title, at Stockholm in 2021.

Rafael Nadal Defeats Cameron Norrie to Claim Mexican Open Title

Rafael Nadal continues his winning ways in the New Year…

The 35-year-old Spanish tennis star defeated Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to win the Mexican Open and extend his career-best start for a season to 15-0 as he won his 91st ATP title.

Rafael NadalNadal, who won his third title in 2022, including the Australian Open for his record 21st Grand Slam singles title, is three victories from tying Ivan Lendl‘s total of 94 for third place for most championships in the Open Era. Jimmy Connors leads with 109 and Roger Federer has 103.

“At the end of the day I’ve always said that this kind of records needs to be measured once your career is over,” Nadal said. “Today the most important thing is that I have won a prestigious tournament.”

The Mexican Open is an ATP 500-level tournament played on hard courts, and this year four of the top-five players in the world started in the draw: Daniil Medvedev (2), Alexander Zverev (3), Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) and Nadal (5).

Medvedev, who’ll rise to No. 1 in the rankings on Monday, lost to Nadal in the semifinals. Zverev was thrown out of the tournament for violently smashing his racket on the umpire’s chair moments after losing a doubles match, and Tsitsipas lost to Norrie in the other semifinal.

“[Acapulco] is a tournament that started with five of the top six players in the world,” Nadal said. “It was complicated, and I ended up taking the victory. Looking back, a few weeks ago this would have looked impossible. It’s amazing how things can change in such a short span, from not being able to practice and now to be where I am today.”

Nadal won for the fourth time in Acapulco (2005, 2013 and 2020), where he is a fan favorite.

He won his first title in Mexico when he was 18 and holds the record for the youngest winner in tournament history as well as the oldest at 35.

“It’s been a long career,” Nadal said. “The first time I came here, everything was new for me, and after all these years you start to appreciate more each victory than when you were an 18-year-old boy.”

Nadal said that his body is holding up well and that he is eager to play at Indian Wells, California, in a couple of weeks.

Norrie, who was on an eight-game winning streak, was trying to become the first British man to win the Mexican Open in its 29-year history.

“I played against him before, so I had an idea on how to play him, but I gave him a couple of easy points and he gave me nothing,” said Norrie. “It was little bit of lack of concentration, and I gave him the match.”

At the start of the match, Nadal had a break in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead and went on to win the first set in 51 minutes.

In the second set, Nadal had a break in the first game, but Norrie returned it and appeared to be back into the match, but the Spaniard added breaks in the fifth and seventh games to take home the trophy.

Carlos Alcaraz Among ESPN’s ’21 Under 21′ Tennis Players to Watch in 2021

Carlos Alcaraz is among the phenoms to watch this year…

ESPN has announced tennis’ 21 under 21 for 2021, with the 17-year-old Spanish tennis player among the sport’s rising stars making the grade.

Carlos Alcaraz

Despite the circumstances of the 2020 season, Alcaraz managed to move up 350 spots the rankings by year’s end, moving from No. 491 to No. 141, even reaching a career-high of No. 136 in October.

He started the year with back-to-back titles on the ITF Futures tour and was granted a wild card into the Rio Open in February. And the then-16-year-old made the most of his ATP Tour level debut, upsetting former World No. 17 Albert Ramos-Viñolas in 3 hours, 36 minutes in the opening round to become the first player born in 2003 to win a match and the youngest match winner since 2013. Alcaraz called the victory the high point of his season.

Following the restart of the season in August, Alcaraz went 20-4 in ATP Challenger events and won three titles at Trieste, Barcelona and Alicante, as well as playing in the final at Cordenons. He was named the ATP‘s Newcomer of the Year and is the youngest player in the top 600.

But Alcaraz, who idolizes fellow countryman Rafael Nadal, has even bigger goals for 2021. He hopes to make his first main draw appearance at a major in Australia in February and then play in all of the Grand Slams. As for his ranking? He’s hoping to make another big push in the new year.

“I want to finish the year in the top 50,” he said.

But Alcaraz isn’t the only Latinx tennis player to make the list…

Canada’s Leylah Fernandez completed her high school studies in the spring during the tour stoppage.

The 18-year-old half-Ecuadorian tennis player made her major main draw debut at the Australian Open in January — just a year removed from winning the junior title — but it was what she did in the weeks following the event that raised tennis fans’ eyebrows.

After losing in the first round in Melbourne, Fernandez scored her first win over a top-10 player (Belinda Bencic) while representing Canada in the Fed Cup (now known as the Billie Jean King Cup) in Switzerland. Later that month, she won six matches in seven days as a wild card qualifier in the Mexican Open, rolling into the final, where she ultimately lost to Heather Watson. The following week, she advanced to the quarterfinals at the Monterrey Open, defeating 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the second round.

Fernandez made a second-round appearance at the US Open and advanced to the third round of the French Open, where she took a 5-1 first-set lead over Petra Kvitova before the two-time major champion came back to win.

Fernandez thinks her 2021 will be even more successful. Her plan is to reach the top 10 by the end of the year.

Thiago Seyboth Wild wasn’t exactly the favorite entering the Chile Open last February after cracking the top 200 for the first time. But having notched one of the biggest wins of his career the week prior at the Rio Open in 3 hours, 49 minutes — the longest match ever in tournament history — over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and taking World No. 32 Borna Ćorić to three sets the next round, the then-19-year old Brazilian tennis player was flying high entering the event.

What he did over the course of the week in Santiago was even more impressive.

Seyboth Wild knocked off three seeds en route to the title, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to win an ATP event and the youngest Brazilian champion in the Open era.

He found mixed results after the restart, losing in the first round of the US Open and not making it past qualifying at the French Open. But he made a finals appearance at a Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence, which lifted him to a career-high No. 106 in the rankings.

Seyboth Wild hopes to build off what he achieved in 2020 in the new year, although he says he focused more on some of the small things during the preseason.

Here’s the complete list in alphabetical order:

Carlos Alcaraz
Age: 17
Ranking: 141
Country: Spain
Career highlights: Winner of three ATP Challenger titles and three ITF Futures titles; Won his ATP main draw debut at the 2020 Rio Open

Bianca Andreescu
Age: 20
Ranking: 7
Country: Canada
Career highlights: Champion, 2019 US Open, 2019 Indian Wells and 2019 Canadian Open

Amanda Anisimova
Age: 19
Ranking: 30
Country: USA
Career highlights: Semifinals, 2019 French Open; Champion, 2019 Copa Colsanitas

Felix Auger-Aliassime
Age: 20
Ranking: 21 (77 in doubles)
Country: Canada
Career highlights: Fourth round, 2020 US Open; Six-time ATP finalist; Doubles champion, 2020 Paris Masters 

Leylah Fernandez
Age: 18
Ranking: 88
Country: Canada
Career highlights: Third round, 2020 French Open; Finalist, 2020 Mexican Open

Hugo Gaston
Age: 20
Ranking: 162
Country: France
Career highlights: Fourth round, 2020 French Open

Coco Gauff
Age: 16
Ranking: 48 (45 in doubles)
Country: USA
Career highlights: Fourth round, 2019 Wimbledon and 2020 Australian Open; Doubles quarterfinals, 2020 Australian Open; Champion, 2019 Linz Open; Doubles champion, 2019 Washington Open and 2019 Luxembourg Open

Varvara Gracheva
Age: 20
Ranking: 94
Country: Russia
Career highlights: Third round, 2020 US Open; Seven ITF titles 

Kaja Juvan
Age: 20
Ranking: 104
Country: Slovenia
Career highlights: Second round, 2019 Wimbledon, 2020 US Open, 2020 French Open; Seven ITF titles 

Sebastian Korda
Age: 20
Ranking: 118
Country: USA
Career highlights: Fourth round, 2020 French Open; One title on ATP Challenger Tour 

Marta Kostyuk
Age: 18
Ranking: 99 (112 in doubles)
Country: Ukraine
Career highlights: Third round, 2018 Australian Open, 2020 US Open; Three ITF singles titles, two ITF doubles titles 

Ann Li
Age: 20
Ranking: 98
Country: USA
Career highlights: Third round, 2020 US Open; Three ITF titles 

Caty McNally
Age: 19
Ranking: 121 (42 in doubles)
Country: USA
Career highlights: Third round, 2020 US Open; Doubles quarterfinals, 2020 Australian Open; Doubles champion, 2019 Washington Open and 2019 Luxembourg Open 

Lorenzo Musetti
Age: 18
Ranking: 128
Country: Italy
Career highlights: Semifinals, 2020 Sardinia; Third round, 2020 Italian Open; One ATP Challenger title and two ITF Futures titles 

Brandon Nakashima
Age: 19
Ranking: 166
Country: USA
Career highlights: Second round, 2020 US Open; One ATP Challenger title and two ITF Futures titles 

Anastasia Potapova
Age: 19
Ranking: 101 (133 in doubles)
Country: Russia
Career highlights: Second round, 2019 Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon; Finalist, 2018 Moscow River Cup, 2018 Tashkent Open; Doubles champion, 2018 Moscow River Cup, 2019 Lausanne

Thiago Seyboth Wild
Age: 20
Ranking: 116
Country: Brazil
Career highlights: First round, 2020 US Open; Champion, 2020 Chile Open

Jannik Sinner
Age: 19
Ranking: 37
Country: Italy
Career highlights: Quarterfinals, 2020 French Open; Champion, 2020 Sofia Open, 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals 

Iga Swiatek
Age: 19
Ranking: 17 (75 in doubles)
Country: Poland
Career highlights: Champion, 2020 French Open 

Clara Tauson
Age: 18
Ranking: 152
Country: Denmark
Career highlights: Second round, 2020 French Open; Seven ITF titles 

Dayana Yastremska
Age: 20
Ranking: 29 (90 in doubles)
Country: Ukraine
Career highlights: Fourth round, 2019 Wimbledon; Champion, 2018 Hong Kong, 2019 Hua Hin, 2019 Strasbourg

Rafael Nadal Defeats Taylor Fritz to Win Mexican Open

Rafael Nadal has won his first title of the year…

The 33-year-old Spanish tennis star raced to victory in the Mexican Open on Saturday night, dispatching Taylor Fritz in straight sets in Acapulco.

Rafael Nadal

Nadal dropped his racquet, launched his arms in elation and looked up into the night after a 6-3, 6-2 triumph on a hard court against the overmatched 22-year-old American.

Nadal finished 63% in first serves and went 3-of-7 on break points. It was his third career title at the Mexican Open, having also won in 2005 and 2013. Overall, it was his 85th career championship, and the first of this season.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Nadal said. “I played a great event from the beginning to the end. Acapulco was the first big title that I won in my career, so to be able to stay here after 15 years is amazing. I can’t thank enough the people who make me feel at home every single time.”

Fritz managed 10 aces in the loss, and had no double faults, yet couldn’t keep up with Nadal’s combination of efficiency and power.

“He’s one of the best players to ever play the game, and he showed me why that is tonight,” Fritz said. “This is one of my favorite tournaments to come to every year. I’m just glad that I could have a good week at one of my favorite events. I felt a lot of love all week.”

Beatriz Haddad Maia Defeats Sloane Stephens to Reach Mexican Open Quarterfinals

It’s a big take down byBeatriz Haddad Maia

The 22-year-old Brazilian tennis player, currently ranked No. 195 in the world, has defeated top seed Sloane Stephens 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals at the Mexican Open.

Beatriz Haddad Maia

It’s Haddad Maia’s first victory in seven career matches against players ranked in the top 10. 

The fourth-ranked Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, was making her first appearance in the event since winning the 2016 title.

“It was just a tough match, obviously she played well,” Stephens said. “A tough day. But I’m not too sad about it. I’m just going to go back and work some more, practice some more and get ready for Indian Wells.”

Haddad Maia will face Wang Yafan in the quarterfinals. Wang led Monica Puig4-1 when Puig retired because of an injury.

Ferrer Reaches Fifth Straight Quarterfinals at the Mexican Open

David Ferrer has extended his quarterfinals appearance streak at the Mexican Open.

The 31-year-old Spanish tenista, the tournament’s top seed, defeated his compatriot Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (1), 6-2 on Wednesday to advance to his fifth-straight quarterfinals at the Mexican tournament.

David Ferrer

Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4.

Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2.

Nadal Earns Second Comeback Title at the Mexican Open

And just like that Rafael Nadal has earned his second title of the year…

The 26-year-old Spanish tennis star routed his fellow countryman David Ferrer 6-0, 6-2 in Saturday’s final of the Mexican Open in what proved to be a powerful performance that indicated he has quickly returned to form after a seven-month absence from the game due to knee injury.

Rafael Nadal

Ferrer, the Acapulco tournament’s top seed this year, was a three-time defending champion and had won 19 straight matches at this event. But the world’s No. 4 player could find no answer to Nadal, losing to his Spanish compatriot in only an hour and 5 minutes.

It’s Nadal’s second title in 2013, following his win at the Brazil Open. In his first tournament back was upset by Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos at the Chilean Open.

Nadal Considering Pulling Out of Indian Wells Tournament

Rafael Nadal may not be headed to The Golden State next week after all…

The 26-year-old Spanish tennis star may pull out of next week’s tournament at Indian Wells, Calif., to show mercy on his frail knees from the hard courts, according to ESPN.

Rafael Nadal

Nadal said he loves the tournament, which he won in 2007 and 2009, but says he has to protect his knees and stay healthy for the European clay-court season, which ends with the French Open.

He didn’t say whether he would play at Key Biscayne, Fla., where he’s reached the final three times, after the Indian Wells tournament.

“My intention is to go to Indian Wells,” said Nadal after reaching the second round of the Mexican Open. “This is the truth because I love this tournament and the priority is to play. But if I don’t feel comfortable playing and decide to wait to play on the hard courts, that’s how it will be and I’ll rest for the clay-court season (in Europe). But today I can’t answer.”

Nadal has been critical of playing on hard courts, suggesting it has caused the knee injuries that are threatening his career. This month in Brazil, he said the ATP was not doing enough to protect players’ health, saying the increased number of tournaments on hard courts will lead to long-term injuries that will affect the players even after they retire.

“I said the truth. I don’t know if I’m going to go or not,” Nadal repeated. “It will depend on how I feel every day and every week.”

Nadal said the condition of his healing left knee, which caused him to take a seventh-month break from competition, was still day-to-day.

“Even when the knee is perfect I had some days better than others. Right now I have had three days in which the knee has felt fine and that makes me happy, that we’re going in the right direction,” Nadal said.

Nadal has so far restricted his comeback to events on softer clay. This month, he reached the final in Chile and won in Brazil.