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Shapovalov Sees Pacheco in Top 100; Recognizes His Potential After Los Cabos Match
🇲🇽 Mexico /Sports

Shapovalov Sees Pacheco in Top 100; Recognizes His Potential After Los Cabos Match

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Denis Shapovalov defeated Rodrigo Pacheco at the Los Cabos Open, but praised the Mexican player's potential, predicting he will soon reach the Top 100 ATP rankings.
  • Shapovalov secured his quarter-final spot by winning 6-3, 6-2, while Pacheco also exited the doubles tournament.
  • Pacheco acknowledged the need to improve his game and attitude, and is restructuring his team to support his career development.

Denis Shapovalov sees a bright future for Mexican tennis player Rodrigo Pacheco, even after defeating him at the Los Cabos Open. Shapovalov believes Pacheco possesses all the necessary skills to break into the ATP Top 100 rankings if he continues to work diligently and trust his game.

"He has everything he needs, he just needs to put the pieces together. He can do it. We saw he had some incredible points. The level was very high. It was a serious game, so I had to play good tennis to win it. I think if he keeps working and believing, he will be in the Top 100 very soon. I have no doubts," Shapovalov stated in a press conference. The Canadian player advanced to the quarter-finals by defeating Pacheco 6-3, 6-2 in just 68 minutes, maintaining his title defense.

He has everything he needs, he just needs to put the pieces together. He can do it. We saw he had some incredible points. The level was very high. It was a serious game, so I had to play good tennis to win it. I think if he keeps working and believing, he will be in the Top 100 very soon. I have no doubts.

— Denis ShapovalovPraising Rodrigo Pacheco's potential after their match at the Los Cabos Open.

Despite Shapovalov's praise, it was a challenging night for Pacheco, who also lost in the doubles competition alongside Santiago González. Pacheco is navigating a period of transition, having recently announced a restructuring of his coaching staff. Nevertheless, he achieved a significant milestone by securing his first tournament victory the day before facing Shapovalov.

"My goal is to keep learning and improve those details with my team, which we just announced ten days ago. I still need to bring in more people to help me and guide my career. I need to fill those gaps and try to play more freely… with less nerves and improve my attitude, which is the most important thing. From there, we'll see," Pacheco Méndez admitted. Meanwhile, Argentina's Francisco Cerúndolo also advanced to the quarter-finals after his opponent, Tristan Boyer, retired due to illness.

My goal is to keep learning and improve those details with my team, which we just announced ten days ago. I still need to bring in more people to help me and guide my career. I need to fill those gaps and try to play more freely… with less nerves and improve my attitude, which is the most important thing. From there, we'll see.

— Rodrigo PachecoDiscussing his career transition and focus on improvement after his match.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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