Mexico bids farewell to the Los Cabos Open in singles, but remains hopeful in doubles
The historic run of Mexican tennis players Alex Hernández and Luis Carlos Álvarez in the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo came to an end this Wednesday, after falling in the second round to high-level opponents. With their first-round victories, both became the first Mexicans to win a singles match in the tournament’s history, but they were unable to advance further in the competition.
Alex Hernández, who staged an epic comeback on Monday against Japanese Taro Daniel, faced the tournament’s top seed and world number 10, Russian Andrey Rublev, who prevailed with scores of 6-3, 6-2 in just 75 minutes.
The Mexican, currently ranked 493 in the ATP rankings, competed on equal terms in the opening games of the match, drawing 3-3 in the first set, but Rublev took advantage of two consecutive breaks of serve to tip the balance in his favor. In the second set, the Russian repeated his formula: after a 2-2 tie, he rattled off four straight games to close out the match with authority.
Meanwhile, Luis Carlos Álvarez, ranked 784 in the world, fell in straight sets (7-5, 6-4) to American Aleksandar Kovacevic, ranked 76. Despite the result, the Mexican left a good impression on the court, earning a break in each set, although Kovacevic made the most of his opportunities by breaking twice in each set.
With these losses, the Mexican singles players are eliminated, as Rodrigo Pacheco and Alan Magadan had previously been eliminated in the first round.
Doubles: Hope Remains Alive
Despite the singles exits, Mexico remains hopeful in doubles thanks to the performances of Santiago González and Manuel Sánchez, who advanced to the quarterfinals alongside their respective partners.
Santiago González, considered the best Mexican doubles player in recent years, defeated Americans T. Winegar and James Cerretani 6-2 with American Austin Krajicek.
Meanwhile, Manuel Sánchez, partnering with Australian Bernard Tomic, achieved a hard-fought 7-6(3), 4-1 victory over Mexican Hans Hach and Colombian Cristian Rodríguez, who were unable to complete the second set due to a forced retirement.
What’s Next
With two Mexican representatives still in the doubles standings, the local crowd remains hopeful of seeing a Mexican reach the final in this event. Attention now turns to the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament, where González and Sánchez will look to continue advancing in the competition that has put Los Cabos in the spotlight as a relevant destination for professional tennis in Latin America.