Zverev and Fernandez invade Mexico for the first time

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Mexico will be a special memory in memory of Alexander Zverev and Lela Fernandez. The German won a title in our country for the first time when he was crowned on March 20 at the Telcel Mexican Open in Acapulco, while the Canadian won the first championship of his career on Sunday 21 at the Open GNP Seguros de Monterrey.

Zverev, the second best-ranked 2021 Acapulco Open, beat Greece’s best-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas in two groups (6-4, 7-6). The rematch was on Mexican soil, since he lost the same final in 2019, when he lost to Nick Kyrgios of Australia.

“I’ve always said this is a tournament I definitely wanted to win in my career. I have a very strong relationship with Mexico and with this tournament. At the end of the final, wearing the Mexican soccer jersey and wearing a Charo hat, I came here with a goal and achieved it, and I’m happy. Too much. “

With this victory, Alexander has now won at least one championship six years since 2016. To date, he has won 14 titles: seven ATP 250 levels, three ATP 500, three more Masters 1000 Finals, and one ATP World Final. 2017 was his most productive year, when he won five of those 14 tournaments.

Zverev’s record in Mexico is 12 wins to just three defeats, and he cement his way into high-level tennis by actually being the biggest ATP tournament winner among tennis players born from 1994 onwards (born April 20, 1997, so he’d barely turn 24 years old) ).

“The main goal is still the most important titles in the world. The Grand Slams are the hardest to win and I haven’t done it yet, but I’m looking forward to it. I think that’s a great starting point for me,” he mentioned to the 2,100 Mexican fans who saw him at Arena Mextenis, where Prices ranged from 3,600 to 4,053 pesos.

Thanks to his championship, Zverev won $ 88,940 at Acapulco, a figure 76.1% below the Spaniard Rafael Nadal award in 2020; Due to the pandemic, the tournament’s portfolio totaled $ 1,053,560, a decrease of 42.9% compared to the previous edition.

The Hamburg citizen has ERA with 60.8% in the finals, winning 14 of 23; In his opinion, one of the most painful defeats he suffered was the US Open 2020 defeat to Dominic Timm, the only Grand Slam tournament he achieved.

The 2021 Telcel Mexican Open Final was the second time the tournament’s best players had reached the Final. The first time this happened was in 2015, when Japanese Ki Nishikori (1st) fell to Spain’s David Ferrer (2nd).

It is also the first time that a German has won the individual championship, which has been held since 1993. Spain is the most victorious country in the tournament with 12 out of 28 possible titles. From the American continent, actors from Argentina, Brazil, Peru and the United States won.

Leila Fernandez: You deserved the effort at a young age

“I don’t know if I could envision winning a title at the age of 18, but I do know that I have trained hard to make it happen, with so much sacrifice,” Leila Fernandez analyzes to El Economista after winning her first title at a higher level.

The Canadian, born on September 6, 2002, defeated Swiss Victoria Golubic by two sets (6-1 and 6-4) in the 2021 GNP Seguros Open Final in Monterrey; Previously, it defeated Sara Sorips, 2021 Zapopan Open champion, and Viktoria Kuzmova, who was among the top 30 in the world at the start of the tournament.

“Without my team at home, my family, this trophy wouldn’t exist. It’s theirs. I’m a little sad because they can’t be with me to celebrate here,” confirmed the current figure of 88 in the world. It should be noted that the Monterrey Open was the only one to be set up without an audience on Mexican soil during the pandemic, with both Acapulco and Zapopan reducing capacity.

After making his major tournament debut in 2017, Layla played only one final and that was precisely in Mexico, at the 2020 Acapulco Open, when he was still 17 years old. At that time, she lost in three sets to British Heather Watson.

With experience in four major tournaments (twice in Australia, once at Roland Garros and once at the US Open), Fernandez returned to Mexico with the slogan of his best participation in the Monterrey Open and achieved it against a competitor ten years older than her. And that she already has experience with four other finals she has played.

Her victory over the royal lands meant her a prize of $ 29,200, which is 32.1% less than what Ukrainian Elena Svitolina won in 2020. The World Open’s total portfolio was $ 235,238, 3.69% less than last year’s edition.

Leila said with a laugh that he would celebrate his first title on a plane, because at the end of the GNP Seguros, he traveled to the United States to face the qualifying round for the Miami Open that begins on Monday, the first Masters 1000 competition for 2021 that will see participation from the top 5 in the Federation ranking Professional tennis players.

Even before the Monterrey Open, he set a record 84 wins with 52 losses and $ 518,504 in prize money. He admitted that his next goal was to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics as a representative for Canada and win the Grand Slam tournaments. The youngest Canadian to win a Grand Slam tournament is Bianca Andreescu, who won the 2019 US Open at 19 years and 83 days old.

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