The American Taylor Fritz, third-placed, defeated the Ukrainian Illya Marchenko 6-1, 6-7 (9), 7-5 and got his ticket to the Quarterfinals of the Abierto de Tenis Mifel 2021 this week at Los Cabos.

Fritz, 23 years old and number 37 in the world, took the control of his gameplay and defeated the experienced Marchenko who made sure that the American was playing his best in a match that lasted 2-hour, 51-minutes.

It looked as if Marchenko, 161 from the world, was about to say farewell to the match when Fritz took a 5-0 lead in less than 25 minutes and closed the first half with a 6-1.

In the second set, much more competitive, the Ukrainian managed to take control on the court in the Cabo Sport Complex and got that set in his favor by winning in the tie-break 7-6 (9).

In the third set, Fritz and Marchenko held their initial serve and then, both broke in straight sets for the 3-3. Then they held their serve until 5-5, but Fritz took a 6-5 lead, and he broke and closed with a 7-5 this an intense match. In the quarterfinals, Fritz will face his fellow countryman Steve Johnson for one of the four semifinals tickets.

The American Brandon Nakashima surprised everyone in the Abierto de Tenis Mifel 2021 after defeating his compatriot Sam Querrey, fourth pre-classified, in two sets in order to get to the Quarterfinals.

Nakashima, 19 years old, said that playing against a rival such as Querrey reminded him of the great moments he is living and what he’s done in order to increase his ranking after winning 6-3, 6-4 in 71 minutes of game.

Querrey, who spent almost his entire career in the top 100 in the world, congratulated his rival after the match.

“I don’t know if Brandon is in the Top 100, but I know he will be there soon and I hope he stays there for a while, I am sure he will continue to improve and that very soon he will win one of these tournaments,” Querrey said in a conference.

“(Nakashima) is very good and plays quite well. America has many young players right now, hopefully they will continue to push each other to improve,” he added. In the first set, with 3-2 in his favour, Nakashima broke in the sixth game and gained a 4-2 lead, which was a hard game for Querrey, who defended his serve but failed to defeat his opponent, ending the match 6-3 in just 30 minutes.

Nakashima’s consistent and active gameplay was difficult for the experienced 33-year-old Querrey to keep up.

Querrey never felt comfortable on the court. In the second half, Nakashima broke Querrey’s serve in the third game, defended his serve and got to 3-1, with this, he took control of the set which he won 6-4. In the quarterfinals, Nakashima will play against the Australian Jordan Thompson, seeking to get more points which will bring him closer to the finals of the Next Generation, ranking in which he is currently number 11.

In tennis, one cannot take anything for granted until you win the last point. John Isner made his debut at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel 2021, and even though he won the first match he played in Los Cabos, he finished with a tight score of 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (5) when he defeated Evgeny Donskoy at Cabo Sports Complex (CSC).

The American arrived to the Mexican ATP 250 with great expectations from a rival who, by his ranking (157) and his tennis career, didn’t need to have a complicated match, but in the Grandstand Caliente.mx that was not the case as the Russian made sure that the second seed of the tournament played to his limit.

At the beginning, Isner closed the first set 7-5, but Donskoy defended his game and managed to win the second half 6-3 after breaking in the sixth game in order to get the match in even sets.

The last set was very even, not many winners so the match went to a close tie breaker, in which Isner took advantage of his great serve in order to win 7-6 (5). In total, the number 39 of the ATP ranking got 25 aces in this round that lasted just over two hours.

John Isner’s is headed to the Quarterfinals of the Abierto de Tenis Miguel 2021 in Los Cabos and will play against the Australian Alex Bolt, in an never before seen match on the tour.

Cameron Norrie had a successful match at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel 2021. In the first round at the Grandstand Caliente.mx, the Briton got his ticket to the quarterfinals of the ATP 250, held in Cabo Sports Complex (CSC), after defeating the Swedish Elias Ymer 7-6 (4), 6-3.

The initial set was very intense; from the physical aspect it looked exhausting, the warm climate and strong sun affected the match since there were long rallies from the end of the court in which the player never went easy with his serve.

When the set got to 5-5, and making use of several effective drop shots, Ymer had three break opportunities that he failed to take advantage of, which led to a tiebreak, where the British showed greater control to get 7-6 (4) in just over an hour.

Ymer wasn’t going to give up so easily, he even broke Norrie’s (number 30 in the world) serve in order to confirm his serve and get 2-1 in the second half. However, Norrie regained control and got his victory by breaking his opponent’s serve in the sixth and eighth games to close the match at 6-3.

After this victory, the first seed will play in the Quarterfinals against the American Ernesto Escobedo, who is becoming a dangerous rival and with a long time on the court after arriving from the Qualy.

“It was my first game; it was difficult because the conditions were complicated but it’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before. I want to keep increasing my game rhythm in the tournament, feel comfortable and hope to win here, but I will take it one game at a time,” said Norrie.

With 15 years as a professional, the American Sam Querrey doesn’t have to work hard to prove his level in tennis since it is his consistency that speaks for him.

Since 2007, he has finished all his seasons in the Top 100 and perhaps the only thing pending for him is getting to the Top Ten, a ranking where he was very close to achieving back in February 2018 when he reached the 11th place, his best position in the world’s rankings.

After that, Querrey began to fall in the ranking and he is now number 70, not bad at all for a 33-year-old player who likes to compete.

Querrey, born in San Francisco, California, on October 7, 1987, stood out in his youth when he got his first ATP spot a day before his 16th birthday, on October 6, 2003.

Being knows as a consistent player, his powerful serve stands out thanks to his height, the American tennis player has 696 games with 381 wins and 315 defeats.

Querrey arrived at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel 2021 as the fourth pre-qualified, along with the British Cameron Norrie (1) and fellow countrymen John Isner (2) and Taylor Fritz (3).

It was precisely in Mexico back in 2017 where Querrey got two of the 10 titles he has won in singles in his career: he won the ATP 500 in Acapulco and the second edition of the ATP 250 in Los Cabos.

Before arriving to Los Cabos, Querrey got to the the final of the ATP 250 Mallorca, which he lost against the Russian Daniil Medvedev, while at Wimbledon, third Grand Slam of the season, he was eliminated in the second round by the Australian James Duckworth. Querrey arrives at the tournament as one of the tennis players with high expectations to win the title, but that will be determined starting this Wednesday when he plays against his fellow countryman Brandon Nakashima, in his first match at the Cabo Sport Complex.

“If I was not a tennis player, I would work in real estate”, a statement about the British tennis player Cameron Norrie in the ATP, first pre-classified in the Abierto de Tenis Mifel 2021, which is played this week in Los Cabos

If he would’ve chosen differently, Norrie would be in an office buying, renting and selling real estate, but fortunately he preferred to play tennis. It is known that, after five years as a professional, this 2021 has been his best year.

Right now, Norrie added to his career three finals, one in the Queen’s tournament on grass, and two more on clay, in Lyon and Estoril. Now he arrives at Los Cabos, which is played on hard court, where he will seek to win the first title in his career.

The 25-year-old British has stood out in recent months; one can witness this since, in this season, he has accumulated 45 games, of which he had 31 wins. This helped him reach the 30th place in the ranking of the ATP this week.

And although in this current season his victories stand out, his last five defeats have a special stamp.

At the ATP 500 in Barcelona, he lost to the Spanish Rafael Nadal, who also eliminated him in the third round in Roland Garros. Two adverse results that gave Norrie experience, since Nadal was his idol as a child.

In Estoril, he lost the final against the Spaniard Albert Ramos-Viñolas and in Queens he lost against the Italian Mateo Berrettini, finalist in Wimbledon. Precisely in the Tennis Cathedral, Cameron was defeated by the Swiss Roger Federer, that is, three defeats against two out of the three players with 20 Grand Slam titles. That great moment brought him to the Abierto de Tenis Mifel 2021 as first seed, followed by the Americans John Isner (2), Taylor Fritz (3) and Sam Querrey (4), favorites that will fight for the title

Very few players find the formula to counterattack Ivo Karlovic’s powerful serve, but that was no obstacle for Jordan Thompson, as the Australian defeated the first champion of the Abierto de Tenis Mifel by 6-4, 7-5 in 1 hour and a half.

The Grandstand Caliente.mx had an entertaining match that offered two different styles. In one hand, Thompson, as fifth seed, showed mobility and good background play, while the 2.11-meter Croatian player tried to take control with his serve and volley game.

In the first set, with the score 4-4, the Australian managed to convert the only break opportunity he had in order to serve and close the set, he took advantage when Karlovic missed a backhand slice that hit the net.

The second set was played from start to finish, and even though it looked like Jordan Thompson would be comfortably heading for victory by breaking in the first game, the Croatian recovered immediately and got to 1-1. From here, the set went until 5-5, then the Australian went ahead with a winner cross court shot while Karlovic rushed into the net, then served and won the match with a serve that was reviewed in the challenge system.

In this match, held in Cabo Sports Complex (CBS), there were some factors in Thompson’s favor, even when Karlovic got 11 aces, Thompson managed to accomplish 75 percent of his break opportunities, that is, three out of four options.

Australia’s Jordan Thompson will face Austria’s Sebastian Ofner in the second round of this ATP 250 in Los Cabos. Despite the defeat, Ivo Karlovic will always have the honorable label of the Abierto de Tenis Mifel’s first champion (in 2016).

“The court was not fast, there were not many high ball-bounces that I liked, I had my opportunities when the game started, then I was able to recover from the break in the beginning of the second set, but by then I did not have many opportunities,” explained Ivo Karlovic, to later highlight that “it’s nice to be here in Los Cabos, one can feel the great atmosphere”.

CONTINUES TO STAND STRONG IN LOS CABOS

Ernesto Escobedo was not finished when he passed the Qualy in Los Cabos, since his sporting aspirations were backed up by good tennis during his debut in the main draw.

The American started the second day at the Grandstand Caliente.mx with a victory after he defeated his compatriot Mackenzie McDonald (8) 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour 20 minutes. Escobedo already had to defeat Ricardo Rodríguez-Pace (VEN) and Alex Rybakov (USA), as well as McDonald to get to the second round of the Abierto de Tenis Mifel 2021, where he will face another North American player: Denis Kudla.

The Ecuadorian Emilio Gómez defeated the Ecuadorian Nicolás Mejía 6-4, 6-1, player in the ATP tournament, in order to advance to the second round of the Abierto de Tenis Mifel 2021 that is being held this week in Los Cabos.

Gómez, 29 years old, was able to control a fighting Mejía, 21 years old, who came from the Qualy.

In the first set, both players defended their serve until 3-3, but in the seventh game, the Ecuadorian saw an opportunity and took advantage of this in order to break the serve and take the score to 4-3. Gomez defended his serve twice and Mejia once for the 6-4.

“I’m very sad, I think it was a good opportunity for me and for Emilio as well, but he took advantage of it,” Mejia said in a conference.

He also mentioned that the game started solid and consistent “but the seventh game was key, I feel that after that game he began to dominate the court more, I made more mistakes than usual, it’s a pity, it was a bad day,” he added.

In the second set, Gomez broke Mejia’s serve in the first and third games and held his serve in his two turns to start with a 4-0.

Mejia served for 4-1 but Gomez closed with his serve and by broke his rival 6-1.

Gómez, Roland Garros winner Andrés Gómez’s son, will face the Australian Alex Bolt in the second round.

THE MEXICAN WINS IN DOUBLES

In the double’s tournament, the triumph of the Mexican Hans Hach Verdugo stood out, along with his teammate, the American John Isner, defeated the duo formed by Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, from Pakistan, and Divij Sharan, from India, 7-6 (3), 7-5.

Other Mexicans competing in the double’s tournament are Santiago González and Luis Patiño.

Gonzalez will have Israel’s Jonathan Erlich as a partner and play against the Austrian Sebastian Ofner and Jurij Rodionov, while Patiño will play together with the American Ernesto Escobedo against the Australians Alex Bolt and Jordan Thompson.

Watching the American Taylor Fritz with a racket is what we usually perceived from him as he walks around the courts of the ATP circuit, but outside of them he also has a great passion: video games.

It was inevitable that this confirmed player for the Abierto de Tenis Mifel 2021 would choose a career in tennis, as Fritz was born between rackets and tournaments since his parents, Guy Fritz and Kathy May, also practiced tennis professionally.

His father, Guy Fritz, did not have a huge career as a player, as his best position was 301 in the world in December 1978; however, he is considered as a prominent coach.

His mother Kathy May was more successful, as she reached 10th place in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in July 1977, she has 7 titles and, on three occasions, got to the Quarterfinals in the Grand Slam tournaments: two in Roland Garros (1977 and 1978) and one at the US Open (1978).

Taylor Fritz, who is originally from Rancho Santa Fe, California, has become one of the best American players today, he also had an outstanding career as a Junior in 2015, in which he reached the number 1 in the world and won the US Open. Today he is the number 40 of the ATP, he had four finals in the tour (Memphis, Los Cabos, Atlanta and Acapulco) and a title (Eastbourne).

Apart from growing up and fulfilling personal goals in his professional career, the talented 23-year-old right-handed player is a huge video game fan; he does not only play them for fun or in exhibition tournaments, but he has taken this hobby to another level by investing in eSports, which are professionally organised multiplayer competitions on different devices and platforms.

Although he often entertains himself with multi-themed video games on the various consoles during his tours and free time, he has an outstanding talent for FIFA and Fortnite, a passion he shares with some of his best friends and also tennis players like Nick Kyrgios, Jack Sock, Frances Tiafoe, among others. Fritz has mentioned that he’s too good at this.

Taylor Fritz is also an NFL football fan, his favorite team is the Los Angeles Chargers. In soccer he is a fan for the Manchester United of the Premier League of England, plus he has a strong admiration for his idol Pete Sampras, who, he considers, is the greatest American tennis player in history.

Taylor Fritz will play at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel 2021 with two great prior appearances in Los Cabos, since in 2019 he was finalist in the singles category who lost against Diego Schwartzman, while a year before, in 2018, he had the same situation alongside his teammate Thanasi Kokkinakis in the doubles tournament.