The days are numbered for clay-court tennis in Latin America. The clay-court circuit lost a major event several years ago when this week’s Mexican Open in Acapulco switched to hardcourts. The so-called ”Latin American clay-court swing” comes in February and early March – just after the Australian Open on hardcourts, and just before Acapulco and two well-established hard-court events in Indian Wells, California, and Miami.