Latest news with #MexicanOpen
New York Times
29-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Alexander Zverev's straight-set defeat at Madrid Open caps disappointing 3 months
Well, that didn't go as he thought it might. Alexander Zverev's attempt to overtake or even just get closer to the No. 1 spot in the rankings — while Jannik Sinner was serving a doping suspension — officially ended Tuesday with a loss to Francisco Cerundolo, of Argentina, at the Madrid Open. Cerundolo beat Zverev in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3. Advertisement The loss ended a three-month journey in which Zverev fell far short of what he hoped. When he left the Australian Open, after a run to the finals, Zverev was just under 2,700 rankings points behind Sinner. However, the Italian was sure to lose ground after accepting a 90-day suspension for twice testing positive for Clostebol, an illegal muscle-building substance. Anti-doping officials accepted his explanation that the substance found its way into his system inadvertently after his massage therapist used a first aid cream with Clostebol in it to treat a cut and then gave Sinner a massage. With Sinner serving his suspension, Zverev went to South America for two tournaments on clay, providing him an opportunity to play on his best surface against lesser competition than he would face in Dubai and Doha on hard courts — as well as some healthy appearance fees. He did not get past the quarterfinals at either event. He then lost his second match at the Mexican Open in Acapulco to Learner Tien, his first defeat against a left-handed player after more than two dozen wins. He lost his first match in Indian Wells, his third in Miami, his first in Monte Carlo and now his third in Madrid. Zverev had 8,135 points when Sinner was suspended. He now has 8,185, a gain of 50. The lone high mark of the past three months occurred earlier in April in Munich, where he won the ATP 500 event as a hometown favorite. Tuesday's loss was similar to several others Zverev has experienced in the past three months. He simply could not control his groundstrokes, making error after error on balls he usually handles with ease on clay. By the middle of the second, with frustration mounting, Zverev slammed his racket to the ground, eliciting howls from the Madrid crowd. Sinner, who will play his first tournament back from suspension in Rome, has 9,730 points. But Zverev won't be able to get closer to him since he is the Italian Open's reigning champion and has to defend 1,000 points. Sinner didn't play Rome last year, so he will be adding to his point total with each win. 'Super-happy to get a win,' Cerundolo said on the court after the victory. 'It's the tournament I feel most at home beside Buenos Aires.'
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Alex de Minaur joins Katie Boulter in sad development for tennis glamour couple
Alex de Minaur has joined fiancee Katie Boulter in making a premature exit from Indian Wells, continuing a worrying dip in form for the Aussie tennis star. Indian Wells presents a rare opportunity for de Minaur and Boulter to be in the same location while playing a tournament, as the ATP and WTA events are run concurrently. It usually only occurs at the grand slams and some 1000-level events. De Minaur and Boulter would have been hoping to make a deep run together in the Californian desert, but both will walk away feeling disappointed. Boulter lost in the second round to World No.7 Elena Rybakina after overcoming a foot injury that kept her out since the Australian Open. De Minaur fared better and made the fourth round, but the World No.10 suffered a shock loss to 25th-ranked Francisco Cerundolo on Wednesday night. De Minaur was expected to beat his Argentinian opponent after seeing him off in four sets in their only other meeting at the Australian Open in January. But Cerundolo got the chocolates on Wednesday night in a 7-5 6-3 upset, meaning de Minaur has still never made the quarters at Indian Wells. It continues a concerning dip in form for de Minaur, who has dropped down the rankings from No.6 to No.10 in recent weeks. He made the quarter-finals at the Australian Open for the first time in his career, before also making the final in Rotterdam where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz. But his form has declined in the last month. He sensationally decided against defending his title at the Mexican Open, which he won in both 2023 and 2024. Instead he headed to the Middle East for back-to-back events in Doha and Dubai, which presented the chance to gain more rankings points and a combined $10 million in prize money. But the decision backfired spectacularly when he lost in the quarters in Doha and second round in Dubai, sparking a hit to his ranking. The decision to relinquish his title in Mexico could also have revolved around the fact Boulter was scheduled to play in Doha and Dubai around the same time, but that also backfired when his fiancee withdrew injured. The situation might spark questions about how players in high-profile relationships are affected when playing tournaments together. Boulter has never made it past the third round at a grand slam, despite a meteoric rise up the rankings in the last two years. The British star is often spotted watching de Minaur's matches, even when she's supposed to be preparing for her own. Speaking at the Australian Open, Aussie great Jelena Dokic pointed out de Minaur and Boulter as an example of a tennis couple having success at the same time. Dokic was responding to claims Stefanos Tsistipas was being negatively affected by his relationship with WTA star Paula Badosa. "There's a few players that are in relationships on the tour and of course Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter have been together for quite a few years now, of course now engaged as well," Dokic said. "And how well has that worked out for their tennis, because you can support each other in different ways and go and practice together and watch each other. So no, I don't think that's the reason maybe why he's struggled on the court. "I think their relationship (Tsitsipas and Badosa) has been really good so far, for over a year-and-a-half I think that they've been together, it seems to be working. I think for Stefanos it's more about having a fresh mind and fresh perspective, going on a tennis court. He really looks to me like he's got a bit of burnout." RELATED: Novak Djokovic crashes to 'horrible' new low amid Jannik Sinner boost Cruz Hewitt detail as Nick Kyrgios urged to make permanent switch Despite Dokic's comments, there might be similar concerns with de Minaur and Boulter until they both have success at a tournament they're playing at the same time. They'll get more chances throughout 2025, with the Miami Open, French Open and Wimbledon just around the corner.
New York Times
03-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Tennis court surfaces and speed: How Indian Wells fits in with ATP and WTA Tours
Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court. This week, illness decimated the Mexican Open in Acapulco. Elsewhere, Stefanos Tsitsipas' new racket gave him a boost and a court surface change provoked a ruckus. If you'd like to follow our fantastic tennis coverage, click here. Tennis court conditions are complicated: they will feel faster or slower for different players and playstyles, and atmospheric conditions and balls can make the same court play very differently. One thing not in dispute is that the speed of the courts at Indian Wells, Calif., is always a talking point, and that speed is always slow. Advertisement This year, things might look different after BNP Paribas Open announced a new surface provider on the eve of the event. A press release from the event over the weekend outlined that Laykold, which also makes the courts for the U.S. Open, had been given the contract. Indian Wells has traditionally been one of the slowest of the big hard-court events, and has remained so across a general quickening in hard-court surfaces across the ATP and WTA tours in the last few years. The move could quicken things up in California, as happened at the Miami Open when it switched to Laykold in 2023. For some players, this will be a relief. World No. 6 and former U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev has been vocal in his criticism of the surface, as well as the slower, heavier tennis balls about which many players (mostly on the ATP Tour) have complained in recent times. 'It's a disgrace to sport, this court,' Medvedev said in an on-court rant during his last-16 win against Alexander Zverev two years ago. 'We should be banned from playing here, a freaking disgrace to sport, this freaking court. And they call it hard courts. What a shame to call this awful court a hard court. 'I'll go to toilet, but I don't care, give me time violation. I'm going to be as slow as the court again. I don't care; give me five time violations, I'll go in one minute. If they allow us to play on such a court, I can allow myself to do whatever I want.' Last year's champions, Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, thrive on the slower, higher-bouncing surface, where the grittiness makes the conditions play distinctly differently from most other hard courts, even before accounting for surface speed. The tournament's change in surface comes in the wider context of a debate about whether a perceived general slowing down of conditions is damaging the sport, and whether or not making hard courts play more similarly is not the gain it might appear. Medvedev's dislike (despite him making the final in Indian Wells the past two years) and other players' love for the surface is, in one way, a display of the benefits of having distinct surfaces across events. With tennis itself getting more and more similar, homogenizing courts will only decrease the variety the sport can offer. The intrigue in the desert this year will be over who will be the big beneficiaries and losers from the changed conditions. GO DEEPER Surface mastery: How Alcaraz won Grand Slams on hard, grass and clay courts Charlie Eccleshare It didn't really seem plausible that Tsitispas was going to drift out of the elite neighborhood of the sport to which he has committed his life. Or did it? The evidence suggested that Tsitsipas could not hang with the next generation. Not just Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz, either. Arthur Fils beat him in Basel. Alex Michelsen beat him in the first round in Australia. Hamad Medjedovic beat him in Doha last month on an injured leg. Advertisement He seemed unable to figure out how to summon the same fight he had rarely lacked during his seven years of playing top-level tennis. Worse, he didn't know where he might find it. Perhaps the answer was in his strings all along — just some different ones. Tsitsipas, who has been testing out a blacked-out racket reminiscent of a Babolat Pure Aero 98, finally made some headway last week, playing his best tennis in nearly a year to win in Dubai. His single-handed backhand once more sent the ball exploding off his strings. His touch was soft when he needed it to be. In the final, he beat Felix Auger-Aliassime, who has been putting together a solid bounce-back season of his own. When it was over, Tsitispas was the owner of his first hard-court title since Los Cabos in the summer of 2023 and back in the top 10. What this means for the future is unclear. The tour now heads to the U.S., where Tsitsipas has rarely enjoyed much success. He didn't have to beat any of the highly touted young guns in Dubai and Indian Wells has not been a happy place for him, despite its (former) conditions suiting his preference to move around his backhand. But it's safe to say that — like the knight from Monty Python — he's not dead yet. Matt Futterman There was a welcome return in Austin last week for Petra Kvitova, the two-time Wimbledon champion, who is back from a 17-month hiatus on maternity leave. She lost to Jodie Burrage of Great Britain in her first match back but was competitive throughout. Kvitova has been given a wildcard to play in Indian Wells this week. Beyond that, it will be interesting to see how Kvitova, 34, manages her schedule in the coming months, and whether she, and other returning players, will try to copy what Belinda Bencic has done. Bencic, a former world No. 4 and Olympic champion, returned to tennis at the end of October after a 13-month hiatus of her own, during which she gave birth to her first child. She has since had exceptional results at the start of 2025, reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open and winning the Abu Dhabi Open, a 500-level event. Significantly, though, Bencic didn't go straight into playing these big events. Her comeback began last year with low-level ITF and Challenger events, away from the main WTA Tour. Advertisement 'For me, it's kind of logical,' she told The Athletic in December, having just played that run of lower-level tournaments. 'I cannot be as arrogant to expect to not play for a year and a half and then come back to the same level that I played before and expect to be able to have a competitive match. So it's important that I can go to the lower level to also build everything up again and see where I'm at. 'I don't see the point of going to a tournament like, I don't know, Indian Wells. You have a difficult draw. Losing first or second round is not really what you need in that moment. You just need to build up matches and confidence and get back in the rhythm of playing a full week of the tournament.' Bencic will now head to Indian Wells looking to go much deeper. GO DEEPER Belinda Bencic believes in herself, because of the women who came before her Charlie Eccleshare No need to apologize for giggles at the words 'Indian Wells' and 'wild card.' Tournament organisers last week announced that it had given one to 44-year-old Venus Williams — seemingly without clearing that with the eight-time Grand Slam champion. Williams, busy with commitments in Europe, will not be playing. And so, the tournament moved on. Last week, Indian Wells added Sloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, and Bencic to the main draw. Not bad, assuming one believes in the concept of wild cards in the first place. Bencic shouldn't need one, having risen to world No. 58 since her return from giving birth. Stephens is outside the top 100 in the rankings. She has not won a tour-level match since the first round of Wimbledon, losing 10 in a row since. Kvitova, who is also on her way back from giving birth and is a two-time champion, received hers when the Williams wild card was announced Americans Robin Montgomery, Alycia Parks and Bernarda Pera also received wild cards last week. So did Iva Jovic, who's worth keeping an eye on. She's 17 and has won matches at the Australian Open and U.S. Open. She's also from Los Angeles and should have healthy crowd support and plenty of friends and family in the stands. GO DEEPER Venus Williams won't play at Indian Wells despite receiving wild-card entry Matt Futterman 🎾 ATP: 🏆 Tomas Machac (No 8 seed) def. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(6), 6-2 to win the Mexican Open (500) in Acapulco, Mexico. It is the Czech's first ATP title. 🏆 Tsitsipas (4) def. Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3 to win the Dubai Tennis Championships (500) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is his first 500-level title in 12 finals. 🏆 Laslo Djere def. Sebastian Baez (3) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to win the Chile Open (250) in Santiago, Chile. It is his first ATP title since 2020. Advertisement 🎾 WTA: 🏆 Emma Navarro (1) def. Emiliana Arango (Q) 6-0, 6-0 to win the Merida Open (500) in Merida, Mexico. It is Navarro's first 500-level title. 🏆 Jessica Pegula (1) def. McCartney Kessler (5) 7-5, 6-2 to win the ATX Open (250) in Austin, Texas. It is the American's seventh WTA Tour title. 📈 Emiliana Arango moves up 53 places from No. 133 to No. 80 after her run to the final in Mexico. 📈 Tsitsipas returns to the top 10, moving from No. 11 to No. 9. 📈 Maya Joint moves inside the top 100 after rising 18 spots from No. 103 to No. 85. 📈 Learner Tien moves inside the top 70 after rising 15 spots from No. 83 to No. 68. 📉 Katie Boulter falls 12 places from No. 26 to No. 38. 📉 Alexander Bublik drops 31 places from No. 51 to No. 82. 🎾 ATP 📍Indian Wells, California: BNP Paribas Open (1,000) featuring Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, Learner Tien. 📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻 Tennis TV 🎾 WTA 📍Indian Wells, California: BNP Paribas Open (1,000) featuring Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Zheng Qinwen. 📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments below as the men's and women's tours continue.
Washington Post
02-03-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Machac beats Davidovich Fokina to secure his first career title
ACAPULCO, México — Eighth-seeded Tomas Machac defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6 (6), 6-2 on Saturday to win the Mexican Open for his first ATP title. The 24-year-old Machac became the third Czech to win an ATP 500 tournament since the category started in 2009, joining Jiri Lehecka (2024 Adelaide, 2025 Brisbane) and Kiri Vesely (2015 Auckland, 2020 Pune).
Reuters
02-03-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Machac beats Davidovich Fokina to win his maiden ATP title at Mexican Open
ACAPULCO, Mexico, March 1 (Reuters) - Czech Republic's Tomas Machac won his first title on the ATP tour on Saturday, beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(6) 6-2 in the final of the Mexican Open. Eighth seed Machac, who won gold in mixed doubles at the Paris Olympics, became the third player from his country to win an ATP 500 title, following Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek. "It feels amazing," Machac said after lifting the silver gourd-shaped trophy. Machac, ranked 25th in the world, was the superior player on the serve, landing seven aces through a tightly contested first set where neither player could get a break. Spain's Davidovich Fokina was on the verge of winning the set when he led 6-5 in the tiebreaker, but Machac held his nerve to win the next three points and claim the set. The 24-year-old stepped up in the second set, getting the first break of the match to go up 3-2. Davidovich Fokina struggled to keep up as Machac won every subsequent game to seal the victory. Machac, who beat Novak Djokovic in last year's Geneva Open to reach his first tour final, where he lost to Casper Ruud, fell to his back after securing the championship point in Acapulco as Davidovich Fokina's return got stuck in the net. "Congratulations for your first title," Davidovich Fokina told Machac at the presentation ceremony. "I don't know how you feel right now. I never won a title. But for sure it feels amazing." The Spaniard has now lost three finals on the tour, including at the Delray Beach Open earlier this month. Machac thanked his coach Daniel Vacek for helping him stay calm through the tense contest. "I was sometimes very tough on him, I speak very loudly (to) him during the matches," Machac said. "But I told him two weeks ago that I sometimes struggle with big matches and I don't know how to manage these situations but then I won... I will try to speak more often."
