Argentine Thiago Tirante qualifies for the semifinals of the Mexico City Open

Argentina currently has seven tennis players in the top 100 of the world rankings. With Thiago Tirante, qualifying for the semifinals of the Mexico City Open, this number is about to increase sooner or later.

With a solid victory against Oliver Crawford, before the eyes of hundreds of Mexicans, Tirante confirmed that the South American country is among the elite of this discipline.

After closing his victory against the British, whom he beat twice 6-4 in an hour and a half, the best seed in the competition spoke about the sacrifices that the Argentine has to make to shine.

“We put a lot of emphasis and determination in the tournaments we go to, that makes us better, because the fight comes from below. “We have to suffer and fight from a young age due to the few opportunities there are, that makes us stronger and stronger and that is largely why several of my compatriots are up there, because of their resilience and the sacrifices we have made since we were little,” confessed Thiago, who is currently in 107th place.

On the track, the man from La Plata showed the skill that has led him to take that great leap in the ranking in the last year. That barrier of 200 that the River Plate fan also crossed looks far away.

The experience he has gained was noticeable from the beginning on the Pelón Osuna field. And although his rival tried to contain him, the Briton could not match the speed of Tirado’s serves, who managed to connect serves that reached 190 kilometers per hour.

Thus, in 50 minutes, the South American managed to take the first set on a sunny afternoon in the Mexican capital.

The Challenger, a tournament that brings together players ranked among the best 200 in the world, is Tirante’s great opportunity to surpass the ranks of the top 100 seeds.

Faced with this possibility, the Argentine faced the difficulties and overcame Crawford, who at times showed flashes with a couple of drops that earned him applause from the fans.

However, on the clay surface, Thiago was more competent in disarming the Briton with accurate drives that sparked important games before closing the match in two sets.

“In my team we know that if we continue doing things well, there will be more possibilities of exceeding 100, no one can assure me that it will be a great year. At the beginning of 2024 I managed to join that select group for the first time, and now I’m looking to get it again,” said the 22-year-old player.

In the first result of the afternoon, on the other hand, Skander Mansouri, who qualified for the main draw from the qualys, was unable to beat the experience of the Australian Bernard Tomic. In a match that lasted two hours and 27 minutes, the former world number 17 won 6-7, 4-6 and 4-6 against the Tunisian.

Tomic’s rival will be Tirante.

The Canadian Alexis Galarneau, on the other hand, defeated the Kazakh Beibit Zhukayev 7-6 and 6-4, executioner of the Mexican Rodrigo Pacheco, and will face the Frenchman Maxime Janvier tomorrow, after beating the American Aidan 6-1 and 6-3 May in the last confrontation of the day.