A brutal gang rape and other crimes have prompted a massive security operation for Acapulco's tennis tournament, with 4,000 personnel to be deployed at an event headlined by Rafael Nadal.

The Pacific port has become Mexico's deadliest city and local police have struggled to stem a brutal turf war between drug gangs where the intimidation of rivals includes the dumping of headless bodies in the street.

The unprecedented show of security at the tennis event is three times the size of Acapulco's own police force and will feature army, navy, federal, state and municipal police, a senior Guerrero state government official said.

Members of the deployment will begin to arrive on Wednesday, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity regarding next week's tournament.

Tourists had been relatively shielded from the city's violence until a group of gunmen stormed a beach bungalow on Feb 3 and raped six Spanish women after tying up seven Spanish men and a local woman.

The scaled-up force will secure access to the Mextenis stadium, which has a capacity of 7,500, and the Hotel Fairmont Acapulco Princess, with a security perimeter being installed and cars will also be checked.

Nadal will be the top ranked player at Acapulco's red-clay tournament, which goes from Feb 25 to March 2.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/20/2013 page22)