New edition of Mextenis Talks in Los Cabos reveals Rublev in depth
- The event began with the presentation of the Oceanida project, four Mexican women who will cross the Atlantic for 50 days
- Mexican players gave a fun talk in a new edition of Mextenis Talks! at the Cabo Sports Complex
- Andrey Rublev also answered questions from the fans and revealed details of his life.
Los Cabos, February 13, 2025.- It is starting to become a tradition. Prior to the start of the main draw of the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo, the Mextenis Talks were held, in-depth talks with the protagonists of the ninth edition that, beyond entertaining those present, offers the public a unique opportunity to see how tennis players live beyond the sport.
The opening was attended by the first Mexican women’s team that will attempt to row across the Atlantic: Andrea, Eugenia, Lucila and Ana Lucia are the names that make up Oceanida and who will travel 4,800 kilometers in 50 days. The four women will take turns rowing two of them every two hours, while the others sleep and rest.
The world-class competition starts in the Canary Islands on December 12 and they will reach the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in February.
Captain Eugenia explained that “the project was born in pandemic after seeing a documentary of the first woman to cross the Pacific. It was a great impression that they did something like that and one of them had never rowed and they looked for her, in a short time she learned what many take years. That made me realize that we can do anything we want to do and it inspired me to do it. We integrated the team in a two-year process. It was hard to find them, but once I did it was easy to get them to work.”
For now they are in training with different expeditions to get to know each other before every possible scenario. “It’s a very mental project, with a lot of training, you can’t see it as a sprint, we have a coach, a psychologist, and a lot of people behind us. The hardest part is not rowing, it’s communicating and making safety decisions,” added the team leader.
Mexicans motivate themselves
Later it was the turn of Mexican players Rodrigo Pacheco, Santiago González, Alejandro Hernández and Luis Carlos Álvarez, who revealed details about their personal lives, the development of their careers and the biggest obstacles in their lives. The contrast between the beginning of professionalism in tennis and veteran status.
Both Luis Carlos Álvarez, who will make his debut in the main draw of an ATP tournament, and Alex Hernández, shared that since they were 4 years old they picked up the racquet and the dream began, while Pacheco provoked laughter when he said “I also started small and the truth is I didn’t like tennis very much, I did it for commitment, but I got the taste for it little by little”. He also shared the adventure of his development from child to professional with his coach Alain Lemaitre, the best Mexican coach of the last decades.
Meanwhile, doubles player Santiago Gonzalez, 42, who in recent years has won several ATP titles, said: “I feel a little old, but I went through the same as them, I was also with Alain, the best coach. My role is still there as a player and it will always be around tennis to support whoever wants it.”
Rublev
To close with a flourish, top seed Andrey Rublev revealed about his first visit to the tournament. “I really like Los Cabos, it’s a great mix between tennis and relaxing because I’m at the resort, it’s unique.”
He then took a trip down memory lane to share about his first approach to the sport. “I have great memories with my grandfather, he spent a lot of time with me, he taught me everything, going to the woods, making bonfires, but about tennis I only have memories of tennis, practicing until there was no daylight.”
“In my head there was no plan B, there was only tennis, I didn’t think about what it would be like not to make it to the professional level, there was only that way,” he added.
He also assured that little by little he has handled the pressure better and about his new short documentary together with the ATP Tour, he said that this opportunity to be more open with his battle to keep the mental aspect healthy came naturally.