Hot off the greatest win of his career against world number one Andy Murray at the Indian Wells Masters, Canada’s Vasek Pospisil (world ranked 128th) will arrive in the less celebrated tennis haven of Guadalajara to take part in next week’s seventh Jalisco Open tennis tournament.
An ATP Challenger Tour event, the Jalisco Open takes place Tuesday, March 21 through Sunday, March 26 at the Centro Panamericano de Tenis in Guadalajara.
The quality of tennis on show at this tournament is always exceptional, with this year’s competitors holding world rankings between 88th and 247th. As well as 26-year-old Pospisil (Canada’s second highest ranked player), five players from the United States have entered the 32-player tournament.
Pospisil’s shock straight sets victory over Murray in the second round at Indian Wells was his first win over a top-10 player since 2014. Unfortunately, he lost to fellow qualifier Dusan Lajovic in the next round.
The winner of the Jalisco Open singles competition will take home US$14,400 from a total kitty of $US50,000. The winning doubles team nets $US6,200. The event also allows players to clock up valuable ATP points and further their world standings.
Tickets for games scheduled on the main court from Tuesday to Thursday cost 80-150 pesos; Friday 110-220 pesos; Saturday 130-280 pesos; and Sunday (finals day) 170-380 pesos. Tickets are available at the gate or in advance through Ticketmaster. Prior purchase is advised for Sunday’s finals. Although not determined when this newspaper went to press, times for matches are expected to be the same as last year, starting each day at 2 p.m. (In 2016, Saturday’s two singles semi-finals began at 6 p.m., after the doubles semis.) Parking is available.
The Challenger Tour is the secondary professional tennis circuit organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The 2017 calendar comprises around 150 tournaments, with prize money ranging from US$50,000 up to US$150,000.
The excellent Centro Panamericano de Tenis was built for the 2011 Pan American Games and is located on Avenida Economies at the intersection of Mision de San Lorenzo, on the south-west corner of the Parque Metropolitano in Zapopan.
For complete information, see http://jalisco-open.com/es.