An Intro to the 2011 Abierto Mexicano Telcel
This year’s Abierto Mexicano Telcel will be held from 21 February to 26 February 2011, at Acapulco in Mexico. The tournament is a joint event; the Association of Tennis Professionals [ATP] division categorizes it as an ATP World Tour 500 Series, while the
Women’s Tennis Association [WTA] consider it part of their International series.
The Abierto Mexicano Telcel has been a part of the ATP Tour since 1993, and was incorporated as one of the WTA Tour tournaments eight years later in 2001. The event was originally held in Mexico City, taking place regularly from 1993 to 1998. It was not
played in 1999, after which it took place once more in Mexico in 2000. However, it has been played at the Fairmont Acapulco Princess in Acapulco since the year 2001.
The Abierto Mexicano Telcel is one of the 11 ATP World Tour 500 Series events, and it is the last of the four tournaments which make up the Latin America “Golden Swing”. The event is considered an important one for clay-courters, who have often called it
one of their favourite events.
The Abierto Mexicano Telcel also won an ATP World Tour award in 2007, when it was voted best tournament of the year. The men’s singles draw consists of 28 players, while the doubles draw is comprised of 16 pros. The total prize money allocated for the tournament
is US$955,000.
Male tennis players in the draw for the 2011 tournament are World Number 6 David Ferrer, World Number 9 Fernando Verdasco, Swiss pro Stanislas Wawrinka, Spanish emerging talent Nicolas Almagro, Ukrainian World Number 26 Alexandr Dolgopolov and Canadian late-entry
Milos Raonic. The title will be defended by first seed David Ferrer, who defeated compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2010.
The WTA division of the Acapulco tournament is also known as the Abierto Mexicano TELCEL presentado por HSBC,
and it is one of 33 International tournaments. The singles draw consists of 32 players, the qualifying singles holds 32 pros and there are a total of 16 players in the doubles draw. It is also played outdoors on clay courts, and the total prize money for
the event is US$ 220,000.
This year, players include first seed and World Number 34 Julia Goerges from Germany, World Number 61 and fifth seed Simona Halep, French pro Mathilde Johansson, American Fed Cup player Melanie Oudin and 2010 runner-up Polona Hercog, who is also the second
seed as World Number 49. Other seeded players include Number 60 Gisela Dulko and Number 65 Carla Suarez Navarro. The qualifying matches have yet to take place.
The 2010 title for the WTA division was won by former World Number 1 Venus Williams, who defeated Hercog in three sets in the final. She will not be able to defend her title, as an injury sustained in this year’s Australian Open has forced her to withdraw
from every tournament after the January Grand Slam.
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