As if it were a phoenix, Rodrigo Pacheco went from less to more on the Rafael “Pelón Osuna court of Deportivo Chapultepec and came out ahead in his first duel at the Mexico City Open.
The 18-year-old tennis player survived Antoine Bellier’s serves at more than 200 kilometers per hour and two tie breaks to win with sets of 6-7, 6-4 and 7-6 and advance to the second round of Challenger 125 .
“My rival is a great server and makes good use of that talent. I got a little nervous at first and the height affected me. Thanks to the mental strength, the heart and the support of the public I was able to move forward which makes me very happy for the people and for me,” said the Yucatecan, who is in his first season as a professional.
The Swiss Bellier, 1.96 meters tall and ranked 325th in the ranking, arrived as a favorite due to his ten years of experience on the ATP circuit. However, Pacheco stood up to his people who did not stop supporting him at every point.
“My rival has a great bowling and that made me lose important points at key moments. I had to become more aggressive because I felt like I couldn’t hit the second serve and that frustrated me. He also committed many fouls that I took advantage of to defeat him,” shared Rodrigo, ranked 685th in the rankings.
The Mexican has played five tournaments since he debuted professionally, and he has learned a great lesson from all of them.
“All my games add a lot to my growth, they are good for my career whether I lose or lose. This year has been a year of learning and I hope to finish the year much higher in the ranking and as a better player.”
The Mexican’s next rival will be the Kazakh Beibit Zhukayev, ranked 201st in the rankings.
“I still have a long way to go, I’m going step by step until I feel completely satisfied with my performance.”
In the morning, Alejandro Hernández, a native of Acapulco, fell in the first duel of the day against Skander Mansouri.
“I got nervous and couldn’t close. I made a mistake on the serve but that’s tennis and it can happen to anyone. “Today was not my day but sport gives you revenge,” commented the player.
Visibly upset, Alejandro accepted that mental factors had to do with his defeat.
“It was something psychological, the most difficult moment of a match is reaching the close, especially when you face a player with a strong serve and that implies much more pressure.”
Also tricolor Ernesto Escobedo fell in his debut against Englishman Oliver Crawford with sets of 6-7 and 6-4.
In other results, Juan Pablo Fivovich defeated Elmar Ejupovic 6-4 and 6-3; while Murkel Dellien advanced to the second round at the expense of Gerard Lee of Japan (7-6, 3-6, 7-5).
The first seed of the tournament, Thiago Tirante, beat Federico Gaio 7-5 and 6-3 to advance to the round of 16.
#Rodrigo #Pacheco #advances #Mexico #City #Open #tournament
– 2024-04-05 20:38:19
