No contest: Nadal defeats Medvedev in 2 sets in Acapulco

Acapulco (Mexico), Feb. 26 (AP/PTI): This time around, there was no drama. In a rematch of an epic five-set Australian Open final, Rafael Nadal defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-3 early on Saturday and qualified for the Mexican Open final, where he will play Cameron Norrie.

A month ago in Australia, the 35-year-old Nadal came from two sets down to beat Medvedev and win his record 21st Grand Slam singles title.

Nadal is now 14-0 in the season and will try to capture his fourth title in Acapulco.

The Spaniard started off strong in the match with a break in the fourth game of the first set that lasted 47 minutes.

But Medvedev, who will be the world s No. 1-ranked player on Monday, played better in the second set, but missed converting 11 break points, seven of them in a fifth game that lasted 19 minutes.

Earlier, Norrie extended his hot streak in February by upsetting Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4.

After losing all four of his matches in January, Norrie is 10-1 in February and arrived in Mexico after winning the third ATP Tour title of his career at Delray Beach.

Norrie, the sixth-seeded player in Acapulco, matched the biggest win of his career by beating No. 4-ranked Tsitsipas.

I served very well today, I really enjoyed the match, it’s one of my best wins, I hope we can keep the run alive tomorrow , said Norrie.

Norrie had service breaks in the ninth game of the first and second set to defeat Tsitsipas.

Norrie s previous biggest career win was he defeated Dominic Thiem, who was fourth in the ATP rankings, in the 2021 Lyon semifinal.

The British player now has a 4-20 record against top 10 opponents.

It’s going to be a great match regardless of whom I’m going to play against, it’s going to be hard,” Norrie said.