ATP/WTA Roundup: Querrey Beats Nadal For Acapulco Title

March 6, 2017 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff


Photo courtesy of Twitter/@AbiertoTelcel 

American Sam Querrey beat a number of top players on his way to the Albierto Mexicano Telcel title over the weekend, concluding his fantastic run with a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory over second-seed Rafael Nadal in the final on Saturday.

“It’s definitely a tournament that I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” said Querrey. “It’s just one of those weeks where I got in the zone and everything was working for me. I hope I can have more like this.”

From 3-3 in the opening set, Querrey won 11 straight points, ending Nadal’s run of 28 straight set victories with a forehand winner on his second set point to take the opener.

Nadal answered back in the second set as he continuously got deep into Querrey’s service games, but Querrey responded each time, including saving five break points while down 3-4. Neither player would secure a break as the set headed into a tiebreaker, and a few errors from Nadal in the breaker gave Querrey the advantage, and he converted on his first match point to become the first American champion in Acapulco in the tournament’s 24-year history.

“He played very well, almost reaching perfection,” said Nadal. “I played under a lot of pressure because of his serve and baseline game. He left me with very options, and the few I had he also played good. I have to congratulate him. I’m also very happy with my week and my game.”

Lesia Tsurenko won the third title of her career, beating Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 7-5 to win the women’s singles title in Acapulco.

“It was a very difficuly match, I felt very comfortable in the first set but in the second I felt quite nervous,” said Tsurenko. “She played better and I think I was realizing that I could get the title and that was making me nervous. She really pushed me to play my best tennis because she was attacking a lot. I was just focusing on myself and doing everything that I can. I’m really happy to win.”

In Dubai, Andy Murray won his 45th ATP World Tour title, downing Spain’s Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-2 to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for the first time in his career.

“It’s nice to win and I played much better as the match went on,” said Murray. “I started a little bit slow, but I was solid. I wasn’t afraid to attack his forehand side. He’s got one of the best forehands, but I tried to move him around the court as much as I could. I defended pretty well and moved well. I served a lot better as the match went on. It was obviously good to win the first tournament here.”

Australia’s Ashleigh Barty captured the first singles title of her career, downing Nao Hibino 6-3, 6-2 to win the Malaysian Open.


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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