Querrey shocks Nadal in final of Acapulco tennis meet

Sam Querrey upset Spanish star Rafael Nadal 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) in the final of the Mexican Open here, becoming the first American to win the title in the tennis tournament's 24-year history.

The 29-year-old Querrey ended Nadal's unbeaten streak in the Mexican Pacific resort city in Saturday night's final, reports Efe.

"It's definitely a tournament that I'm going to remember for the rest of my life. It's just one of those weeks where I got in the zone and everything was working for me. I hope I can have more like this," Querrey said.

"After the match against (Belgium's David) Goffin, I knew I could go far here if I continued to play at that level. My forehand and backhand were great and my serve bailed me out of trouble when I needed it. I felt like I had a lot of support throughout the week and everyone has been so kind. It's been a pleasure to play here," Querrey said.

Querrey entered the hard-court tournament ranked 40th in the world and will move into the top 30 when the new ATP rankings come out on Monday.

"He played very well, almost reaching perfection. I played under a lot of pressure because of his serve and baseline game. He left me with very few options, and the few I had he also played good. I have to congratulate him. I'm also very happy with my week and my game," Nadal said.

The 30-year-old Nadal, who reached his first Grand Slam final in nearly three years at January's Australian Open, was looking to win his first hard-court title since January 2014, when he took the trophy at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.

Nadal won the title in Acapulco in 2005 and 2013, and entered the final with a 14-0 career record at the event.

In the women's final, Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko defeated France's Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 7-5.

--IANS

gau/dg