Tennis. The unbelievable anecdote of Nadal in his first title in Acapulco

Last Thursday they were fulfilled fifteen years since Nadal's first victory in the tournament of Acapulco. It was the first ATP 500 tournament that he won and Rafa decided that same night to party with his entire team in Mexico City. The night went on and the next morning the group had to take a flight to play the Davis Cup next weekend with Spain in Slovakia. With hardly any sleep, Nadal and his family took a taxi to the airport and ran into one of the monumental traffic jams that abound in the Mexican capital. The Nadal clan was about to miss the flight, but arrived on time. What they did lose was the champion trophy in Acapulco. In a hurry, the trophy stayed in the taxi and they never saw him again.

Rafa remembers that edition with special affection for all that it meant for his career. “It was the first big tournament I won”, has assured statements in ATP. Nadal was then number 39 in the world. He had won his first title in Sopot a year before and reached the Mexican clay after having lifted the title in Costa do Sauipe a week earlier. The number one head in Acapulco was his current coach Carlos Moyá and in the picture he was responsible for overcoming Alex Calatrava, Santiago Ventura, Guillermo Cañas, Mariano Puerta and Albert Montañés. Raised the third title of his life and it was the start of a brutal season: eleven titles won in 2005. He took his first Masters 1,000 (Monte Carlo), the first Roland Garros, the first fast track title (the Canadian Masters 1,000) and finished the year as world number two only behind Roger Federer.

The victory in Acapulco in 2013 (6-0 and 6-2 against David Ferrer) was also special. “Winning that year was a key moment in my career because it came from a long knee injury. It is true that he had won in Sao Paulo a few days ago, but with many problems. Here I played great, and winning made me feel confident again, ”Rafa explains. Before Taylor Fritz, he will look for his third title tomorrow in one of his favorite tournaments. "I feel at home. The people are amazing with me. I enjoy every moment here because it is not a typical tennis tournament. It also has a vacation atmosphere for being in front of the sea, that makes you feel great. ”