UTS rocks Guadalajara on Day 1, and it’s all to play for on Super Saturday

Electricity was in the air on Friday night in Guadalajara, as UTS made its first appearance in Latin America and a party-like atmosphere was coursing through the 7,500-capacity Centro Panamericano de Tenis. 

The dj was pumping, the tennis was flowing, and the packed house soaked in the magic of “tennis like you’ve never seen it before.”

Flavio Cobolli – “Il Gladiatore” – and Jakub Mensik – “Menimal” got the ball rolling in a milestone occasion for the event. It was the 100th match in the history of UTS, which dates back to its inaugural event in the South of France in July of 2020. 

Next, enjoy a rundown of all four of Friday’s matches, as well as a preview of what’s to come on Saturday…

Cobolli defeats Mensik, 14-13, 15-12, 20-12

Cobolli – “Il Gladiatore” – was behind in the first two sets, but he lived up to his name and fought back to take control in the first two quarters, before running away with the third quarter and completing the 36th three-set sweep in UTS history. 

“I love to play in Mexico, it’s my first match at UTS, and I also love that it’s the 100th match in UTS – it’s a good number,” Cobolli said. 

Credit Mensik, who threw in an underarm serve and won his three-point card in a last-ditch attempt to get back into the final quarter, but in this match of UTS debutants it was Cobolli who looked like the player with title aspirations. Everything from his laser forehand to his post-match dancing were on point tonight. 

Gasquet and Fognini turn back the clock 

A combined 1,033 ATP victories have been logged by Richard Gasquet and Fabio Fognini, and on Friday night in Guadalajara, the pair of tour legends gave UTS fans a big treat as they took their talents to a different stage. 

The pair of former top 10 talents had not met since 2018 on the ATP Tour, and split their previous four meetings, so tonight’s clash, the second of four round-robin matches played on night one, was a bit of a rubber match. 

In an intensely physical match, it was Fognini who found a way to victory despite a valiant effort from Gasquet. The pair traded blows and wore one another out, and Fognini was only able to avoid sudden death by winning a deciding point at the end of the fourth quarter. 

He ripped a courageous backhand winner to take out former finalist Gasquet and earn his first career UTS win. 

Final score: Fognini d. Gasquet, 12-16, 18-15, 16-12, 15-14

“Air Machete” Machac slices through “The Wall” 

Tomas Machac – “The Air Machete” – may not have had the experience on his side but he had the power to break through “The Wall” on Friday night in Guadalajara, 19-11, 16-11, 17-13. 

It was a powerful debut performance from the 23-year-old Czech who controlled the run of play from start to finish to become the second debutant – along with Flavio Cobolli – to earn a win on Friday night in Guadalajara. 

Goffin, a semi-finalist at the inaugural UTS event in July of 2020, couldn’t put a dent in his opponent. The former world No.7 will go back to the drawing board on Saturday in Guadalajara against Jakub Mensik. 

Ice Man Ruud Mans Up 

As Casper Ruud made his way through a packed throng of admirers on his way to Stadium court to face Adrian Mannarino on Friday night the full vibe of UTS Guadalajara could be felt. Fans were lining the practice court, where Ruud and Mannarino posed for their pre-match picture and coinflip, and they were cheering wildly, when the players entered the court. 

Just the atmosphere that UTS expected when it chose Guadalajara, a tennis-mad city that is underserved by the ATP Tour, as the home for its first event of 2025. 

The frenzied scene is an indication of how much Mexicans and Latin Americans love the sport — and UTS.

The Norwegian used that energy and attacked the match from the front foot from start to finish as he put in a dominant performance against the French debutant. 

Mannarino, effectively a deer in the headlights in the opening quarter, pushed back in the second quarter and nearly stole it. He would have, in fact, had it not been for a courageous serve, made by Ruud on the deciding point. From that moment on there was nothing but wind in Ruud’s sails as he charted his course to victory in straight quarters.

Final score: Ruud d. Mannarino, 19-8, 14-13, 18-7

Super Saturday schedule set: 

There will be eight exciting tilts on Saturday, with each player contesting two matches. And it’s all still up for grabs as far as the coveted Zeus trophy is concerned. 

Here is the order of play: 

Saturday afternoon session, 1 PM start: 

The Wall David Goffin VS Menimal Jakub Mensik 

Fogna Fabio Fognini VS Manna Adrian Mannarino 

The Air Machete Tomas Machac VS Il Gladiatore Flavio Cobolli 

The Ice Man Casper Ruud VS The Virtuoso Richard Gasquet 

Saturday night session, 6 PM start: 

The Air Machete Tomas Machac VS Menimal Jakub Mensik 

The Virtuoso Richard Gasquet VS Manna Adrian Mannarino 

The Ice Man Casper Ruud VS Fogna Fabio Fognini

Il Gladiatore Flavio Cobolli VS The Wall David Goffin

Day 1 standings: top seeds top spots 

Group A

• Casper Ruud 1-0, +23
• Fabio Fognini 1-0, +4
• Richard Gasquet, 0-1, -4
• Adrian Mannarino, 0-1, -23

Group B

• Tomas Machac 1-0, +17
• Flavio Cobollo 1-0, +12
• Jakub Mensik 0-1, -12
• David Goffin, 0-1, -17