Answers From Acapulco

An interview with Geoffrey Fernandez of MexTenis about a memorable week of highs and lows at the Mexican Open.

I’m delighted to bring Bounces a wide-ranging, in-depth interview with Jose Antonio (Geoffrey) Fernandez, who oversaw operations for the Mexican Open in Acapulco, the ATP 500 event that just wrapped up this weekend (after a major mid-week speedbump).

Fernandez, who has worked at the Acapulco tournament for the last 18 years, is the chief operating officer for MexTenis, the company which runs the Acapulco tournament as well as the ATP 250 in Los Cabos.

Geoffrey Fernandez this week in Acapulco. (Photo by MexTenis).

Our interview, which has been edited for clarity, covers a range of topics relevant to tennis followers around the globe. Topics include appearance fees, the looming threat of a Saudi Masters 1000 event being added in February, how switching away from clay unlocked Acapulco’s potential. We also discuss some more locally focused topics, including how Mexico has grown on the tennis calendar despite lacking top players, recovery from back-to-back natural disasters that hit Acapulco, and more.

But this will start, naturally, with the shocking midweek moment when a cluster of Acapulco’s players—including three of the top four seeds—were derailed by a mysterious, sudden ailment that decimated the draw.

Sick Leave

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Why Illness Swept Through the Acapulco Draw

Ben Rothenberg, Bounces — I want to ask about what happened Wednesday this week, with a bunch of the players suddenly getting sick. Was there ever any sort of cause or source, I guess, determined or discovered for what was causing this? And anything done to prevent more players getting sick?