In pictures: The story of Acapulco 2020
From Renata Zarazua's Cinderella week at home to 17-year-old Leylah Fernandez's spectacular breakthrough to the final and Heather Watson's dramatic path to her fourth career title, all the best photos from the 2020 Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.
01
/48
Reigning Pan-American gold medalist Nadia Podoroska of Argentina was beaten in the first round of qualifying by Slovenian teenager Kaja Juvan.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
02
/48
Martina Trevisan took a set lead in the first round of qualifying, but fell to Caroline Dolehide.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
03
/48
Nicole Gibbs overcame wildcard Fernanda Contreras Gomez in the first qualifying round to set up a clash between former Top 100 players against Sara Errani.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
04
/48
Two-time champion Errani was given a wildcard to qualifying and successfully reached the main draw by beating top qualifying seed and former finalist Stefanie Voegele and No.7 seed Gibbs.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
05
/48
Reigning French Open girls' singles champion Leylah Fernandez of Canada qualified for her fourth WTA main draw without losing a set.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
06
/48
Juvan ultimately became one of three teens to qualify for the main draw, along with Fernandez and Wang Xiyu.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
07
/48
Venus Williams, seeded No.5 this week, accepted a wildcard for her first appearance in Acapulco since winning back-to-back titles in 2009-10.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
08
/48
Doubles partners Dalila Jakupovic and Danka Kovinic arrive at the tournament's Fiesta Blanco.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
09
/48
Sarah Olmos, Giuliana Olmos, top seed Sloane Stephens and Sabrina Santamaria also attended the Fiesta Blanco.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
10
/48
Young Slovenian duo Tamara Zidansek and Kaja Juvan are both rising up the rankings, and also made an appearance at the Fiesta Blanco.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
11
/48
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova smiles for photographers on the Fiesta Blanco red carpet.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
12
/48
Venus Williams brought her star power to the Fiesta Blanco red carpet.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
13
/48
American Sabrina Santamaria, playing doubles this week with Nina Stojanovic, celebrated her 27th birthday on Monday.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
14
/48
Former Top 10 player and two-time Grand Slam semifinalist CoCo Vandeweghe made her main draw debut in Acapulco against No.7 seed Heather Watson.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
15
/48
Watson rallied from a set down to beat Vandeweghe in a marathon opener, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
16
/48
No.8 seed Nao Hibino eased through to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Arantxa Rus in her first round match.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
17
/48
Russian teenager Anastasia Potapova pulled off the most dramatic comeback of Monday's play - rallying from 6-4, 4-0 down to beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
18
/48
In a first round match of two tournament debutants, Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek beat Russia' Anna Kalinskaya in straight sets.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
19
/48
Kateryna Bondarenko edged Danka Kovinic in two hours and 47 minutes in Monday's first round as she continues her comeback from her second maternity leave.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
20
/48
In her fifth trip to Acapulco and first as a seed, No.3 seed Marie Bouzkova was unable to score her first main draw victory at the tournament...
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
21
/48
...as she was ultimately beaten in Monday's opener by German veteran Tatjana Maria, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
22
/48
Defending champion and No.2 seed Wang Yafan was dethroned by her teenage compatriot Wang Xiyu to round out Monday's first round.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
23
/48
18-year-old Wang Xiyu earned her eighth career win over a Top 100 player with her upset of her seeded compatriot.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
24
/48
Mexican wildcard Renata Zarazua thrilled the locals with an upset of top seed Sloane Stephens in the first round on Tuesday.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
25
/48
Great Britain's Katie Boulter, who missed six months with a back injury in 2019, scored her first WTA main draw win in exactly a year by beating American lucky loser Francesca di Lorenzo in the first round.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
26
/48
Christina McHale came through her first of two all-American matches on Tuesday, beating No.4 seed Lauren Davis, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
27
/48
WIlliams, who had never lost a match previously in Acapulco, came up just short in one of the most dramatic matches of the year thus far...
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
28
/48
....before the teenager Juvan saved a staggering seven match points to win, 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
29
/48
In one of the rare all-Slovenian meetings on tour, however, Zidansek got the better of Juvan on Wednesday to reach the last eight.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
30
/48
Fernandez's breakthrough week in Mexico continued on Wednesday, as she dominated No.8 seed Hibino, 6-3, 6-0, to reach her first-ever WTA quarterfinal.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
31
/48
By virtue of her 6-3, 6-3 victory over German veteran Maria, 18-year-old Russian Potapova and Fernandez set up an all-teenaged quarterfinal.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
32
/48
As dusk turned into night on Wednesday, Zarazua kept her Cinderella run going with a thrilling comeback over another American, Katie Volynets, in the second round.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
33
/48
She rallied from a set and a break down, and saved seven break points which would've seen her trail, 6-4, 5-2, to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-0.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
34
/48
Serving up 13 aces, Chinese teenager Wang Xiyu backed up her upset of defending champion Wang Yafan with a 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-1 win over Errani to reach the last eight.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
35
/48
To close out the second round, McHale rallied from a set down to beat compatriot Caroline Dolehide, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, to reach the last eight.
36
/48
17-year-old Leylah Fernandez battled past fellow teenager Anastasia Potapova to book a spot in her first WTA semifinal.
Leylah Fernandez - 2020 Acapulco
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
37
/48
Renata Zarazua also entered her first-ever WTA semifinal, as the 22-year-old continued to thrill her compatriot fans with a quarterfinal victory over Tamara Zidansek.
Renata Zarazua - 2020 Acapulco
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
38
/48
Heather Watson is the only seeded player to reach the final four, as the 7th-seeded Brit overcame Christina McHale in three sets in their quarterfinal clash.
Heather Watson - 2020 Acapulco
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
39
/48
18-year-old Wang Xiyu also reached her first-ever WTA semifinal this week, but she fell to Watson in their semifinal battle in two close sets.
Wang Xiyu - 2020 Acapulco
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
40
/48
Heather Watson moved into the fifth WTA singles final of her career in Acapulco. She has a 3-1 record in her previous finals.
Heather Watson - 2020 Acapulco
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
41
/48
The magical run of Mexican wildcard Renata Zarazua came to an end, as she fell to Leylah Fernandez in the semifinals, 6-3, 6-3.
Renata Zarazua - 2020 Acapulco
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
42
/48
Fernandez booked a spot in her maiden WTA singles final -- and is the first Canadian to reach the women's singles final in Acapulco.
Leylah Fernandez - 2020 Acapulco
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
43
/48
Giuliana Olmos became Acapulco's first Mexican WTA champion as she claimed her second title with Desirae Krawczyk 6-3, 7-6(5) over Kateryna Bondarenko and Sharon Fichman.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
44
/48
In the singles final, Heather Watson leapt out to a 4-0 lead over Leylah Fernandez, then a 6-4, 2-0 lead, and then held quadruple championship point in the second-set tiebreak.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
45
/48
However, Fernandez fought back to steal an epic second set, saving five championship points in total and taking her own fifth set point.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
46
/48
A relieved Watson would eventually close out the win on her 10th championship point after two hours and 46 minutes - the longest WTA final of 2020 so far.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
47
/48
Watson's 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-1 victory ensures that the Briton will return to the Top 50 for the first time since June 2016, while Fernandez continues to close in on the Top 100 with a new career high inside the Top 130.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
48
/48
The Acapulco trophy was Watson's fourth overall, second in Mexico and first in four years since Monterrey 2016.
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC
