'Zombie storm' devastates Mexican Open tennis venue

Mexican Open tennis venue has been damaged badly because of the Hurricane John. The natural disaster, which was classified as the ‘Zombie Storm’ hit southern part of the country. The term ‘Zombie Storm’ is used to describe a hurricane which first hits the shores, dissipate before becoming a storm again.

The natural disaster swept through the coast of Mexico and left as many as 22 dead, according to a report by the English media outlet Guardian. According to other media reports, the hurricane, which was classified as a category three hurricane, sustained winds up to 120mph. Under the influence of the natural disaster, some areas in the country received rain up to 500 mm. Nearly 100,000 people also lost power.

One of the areas that was massively affected was the town of the venue that used to host the Mexican Open. The ATP 500 event is held on an annual basis in February and March at the Arena GNP Seguros. As per Daily Express, the venue was left flooded because of the hurricane.

Earlier this year, Australia’s Alex de Minaur won the competition, defeating Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-4. It was the second consecutive year that the Australian tennis star lifted the title. De Minaur won the title last year after beating America’s Tommy Paul with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

The competition has been played for more than three decades. The first-ever edition, which was back in 1993, was won by Austria’s Thomas Muster, who defeated Spain’s Carlos Costa in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-4. Four players in the tournament history managed to lift the title four times — Muster (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996), Spain’s David Ferrer (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015) and former world number one Rafael Nadal (2005, 2013, 2020 and 2022).