ACAPULCO/STARNBERG, March 21, 2021
No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev claimed his 14th ATP Tour title on Saturday when he defeated top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-4, 7-6(3) in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC final.
The 23-year-old German entered the championship match with a 1-5 ATP head-to-head record against Tsitsipas, but he recovered from a break down in the first set and saved a set point at 5-6 in the second set to lift the trophy after two hours and 17 minutes.
The moment @AlexZverev defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to win the @AbiertoTelcel title for the first time 🙌#AMT2021 pic.twitter.com/DwRvBHqiuy
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 21, 2021
“In the beginning I started off extremely bad, I thought I didn’t play well at all,” Zverev said. “I had to fight my way into the match, and I did well to win the first set. In the second set, when I have a chance I need to close it out against these top players because normally they won’t give you a second chance. I thought I played extremely well in the tie-break, I’m happy with how it went.”
Zverev, who did not drop a set en route to the title, has won a tour-level crown in each of the past six ATP Tour seasons.
“I’ve always said that this is definitely a tournament that I wanted to win in my career,” Zverev said. “I have a very strong relationship with Mexico and with this tournament. I came here with a goal and I achieved it, and I’m very happy with that.”
The World No. 7 took away from Acapulco $88,940 in prize money as well as 500 ATP Ranking points.
Skupski Bros. take doubles title
Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski clinched their first title of the season with a 7-6(3), 6-4 victory over top seeds Marcel Granollers of Spain and Argentine Horacio Zeballos.
The British pair converted both break points they created and finished the doubles final after one hour and 34 minutes. The win sealed their third title together, and their first since 2019 in Budapest.
“I’d like to thank Neal, actually,” Ken said during the on-court ceremony. “It’s been a long road since we sort of broke up and got back together. This is a magic moment for both of us.”
Con remontada incluida, Neal y Ken Skupski se proclaman campeones de dobles del #AMT2021 🙌😎
La final estuvo llena de puntos increíbles de ambos lados, ¡disfruta algunos de ellos! 😏
Para ver los partidos completos del #AMT2021, sintoniza ESPN #CelebratingTennis pic.twitter.com/03zIo4O7YQ
— Abierto Mexicano (@AbiertoTelcel) March 21, 2021
