A look at the immediate future of the players in Acapulco: Where do they go from here?
Acapulco was the venue for the Abierto Mexicano Telcel championships, which got over today. 2014 marked a change in surface – from clay to hard – and attracted Andy Murray over from Dubai. Here’s a look at what’s in store next for the players who competed in Acapulco:
Grigor Dimitrov
GRIGOR DIMITROV
The title at Acapulco went to Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian’s potential has been evident for a long time, and he is slowly but surely beginning to realize it. Dimitrov proved his worth in the tournament, beating the likes of Ernests Gulbis, Andy Murray and Kevin Anderson in consecutive three-setters, coming back from a set down against both Gulbis and Murray. This was his second tour title, and it seems a given that that count will continue to rise. Dimitrov will next play in the Indian Wells Masters 1000 tournament where he will be expected to make waves.
Kevin Anderson
KEVIN ANDERSON
South Africa’s Kevin Anderson reached the finals in Acapulco, albeit with some help (David Ferrer retired from his match against Anderson with an injury). En-route the final however, the fifth-seeded Anderson beat American Sam Querrey and the red-hot Alexandr Dolgopolov. He also won the doubles title, combining with Matthew Ebden to beating strong pairs such as Butorac and Klaasen as well as Feliciano Lopez and Max Mirnyi.
Anderson is one of those players who hangs around the lower seed limit at the Grand Slams, occasionally making a deep run into the second week. In the 500′s and 250′s though, he’s a dangerous player, as he proved by his reaching the final in Mexico. At Indian Wells, don’t expect Kevin to go far – maybe as far as the third round. And if her runs into Tomas Berdych (against whom he has a 0-10 record), he will be fervently praying he can finally defeat his fellow Big Boy.
Andy Murray
ANDY MURRAY
Returning from a back injury, the Brit opted for Acapulco over Dubai. However, despite reaching the semis, he will be disappointed with his performances which involved dropping sets against Pablo Andujar and Gilles Simon before bowing out to Dimitrov. Murray would’ve been one of the top contenders for the Indian Wells Masters 1000 event any other year, but not this year. Still, we can expect him to at least make the quarters. He has been extremely unreliable and inconsistent this year, but he’s got to arrest the slide at some point.
David Ferrer
DAVID FERRER
Ferrer has made Acapulco his hunting ground. Despite the change of surfaces he remained the favourite, partially because of Murray’s back. David was cruising in the tournament until a leg injury forced him to retire from his match against Anderson. He is most probably going to miss the spring American swing on hardcourts but will hope to return before the clay season begins in full swing. A ‘Get Well Soon’ to David from us!
ERNESTS GULBIS
The Latvian played well in Acapulco but lost to Dimitrov despite being a set up. Gulbis will be hoping to replicate the form he showed last week in Marseille as he sets his sights on making a lasting impression in Indian Wells. The Latvian is a dangerous player and he can often shock higher-ranked players. If he wants to usurp Nadal from the No. 1 position in the World – an intention he declared after winning in Marseille – he has to do more than winning 250 tour events.
Alexandr Dolgopolov
ALEXANDR DOLGOPOLOV
Dolgopolov is in fantastic form, or at least was heading into Acapulco, having reached the finals in Rio, beating Ferrer and Fognini on the way, before losing to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. This week, he overcame Ivo Karlovic, Jeremy Chardy and Vasek Pospisil before losing to Anderson. He has been in good form and will be looking to carry it into the American hardcourt swing. The Ukranian has time and again proved that he has the talent. But the question is, will he ever produce good results consistently?
Sam Querrey (L) and John Isner
JOHN ISNER AND SAM QUERREY
American giants John Isner and Sam Querrey looked weak in Acapulco and bowed out meekly. Isner lost to fellow big server Ivo Karlovic and Querrey fell to Anderson. Expectations will be high from them in Indian Wells, but expect them to continue their below-par performances. Isner however has a good history in Indian Wells and will hope that it accounts for something.