The Latin Americans who Participated in the ATP 500 in Acapulco

The Acapulco ATP 500 took place from last Saturday, February 25 to March 4, and some of the best tennis players on the circuit were present in the famous Mexican city. The tournament, on this occasion, awarded more than two million dollars in prizes and has been played on a hard court since 2014.

Latin Americans in the contest

On the Latin American side in men's singles, the first to participate was Emilio Gómez from Ecuador, who in the initial round was eliminated by partials (6-1 7-6) by American Tommy Paul. In second place, the local Rodrigo Pacheco Méndez had to face Alex de Miñaur from Australia and was easily defeated (6-1 6-2). Meanwhile, it was the Argentine Guido Andreozzi who fought for two hours and 54 minutes, in the same round, against the Norwegian and favorite for the title, Casper Ruud, but ended up falling (6-4 4-6 7-6).

In the doubles, the Colombians Robert Farah and Juan Sebastián Cabal were the key players in this tournament for the Latin Americans, since they are the best positioned in the doubles ranking of the Association of Professional Tennis Players (ATP). The cafeteros had to face the American duo of Mackenzie McDonald and Ben Shelton in the first round, who beat them 7-6, 6-4 in a very demanding match that left Juan Sebastián and Robert empty-handed on Mexican soil.

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On the other hand, Hans Hach Verdugo and Miguel Ángel Reyes Varela, the Mexican duo, were also present, but they were overshadowed by the presentation of the Europeans Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski who defeated the locals (7-6 6-3); Likewise, the Argentines Guillermo Durán and Guido Andreozzi said goodbye to Acapulco with a defeat inflicted by Andre Goransson and Ben McLachlan (7-6 6-4). In the fight, was the Brazilian Rafael Matos who with his Spanish partner, David Vega Hernandez, surpassed the first round.

The winners of the ATP 500 of this edition

In the doubles it was the Austrians Erler and Miedler who took the title, they beat the Americans Withrow and Lammons with a double 7-6. And it is the second ATP 500 title in their career.

On the other hand, at the individual level, it was the Americans Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz who starred in the longest match in the history of the tournament during the semifinals, lasting three hours and 25 minutes. Both athletes played a match worthy of a semifinal where Paul defeated Fritz in three sets with partials (6-3 6-7 and 7-6), thus achieving a historic qualification to the grand final. But it was there that he found a worthy rival, the Australian Alex de Miñaur, who with his drive overshadowed the North American's game and won solidly (3-6 6-4 and 6-1).

Alex de Miñaur's record in the ATP 500

De Minaur started down in the first set and never before had a player who started losing had been crowned champion of the contest. "I knew that if I could get the first game out of the third set, I was going to have a lot more energy to win," the Australian said after the match. Likewise, he stressed that it was an incredible tournament and assured that he was happy with his level.

This is the seventh title of his career and in addition to taking 500 points for the ranking, he also obtained a prize of 733,320 dollars.