Mexican Open 2022: Nadal wins another battle against Medvedev

Rafael Nadal defeated Daniil Medvedev to reach the ATP 500 Mexican Open 2022 finals. Unlike the finals of the 2022 Australian Open, Nadal had no trouble this time, as he cruised over the Russian in straight sets. With this triumph, the Spaniard has extended his head-to-head record to 5-1.

Nadal took a calculated approach and avoided making several unforced errors. Conversely, Nadal's deft play forced Medvedev to take extremely ambitious shots, which culminated in Medvedev's blunders. Thus, the Spaniard thrashed the Russian 6-3,6-3 in just over two hours.

The whole match in a nutshell

The first set got underway with both players holding their first serve games. In his next service game, the Spaniard broke Medvedev, giving himself a 3-1 lead. He commanded the set from the start, winning the opening set 6-3 in just 47 minutes thanks to his forceful and clever play and slightly elevated service.

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Medvedev's serve opened the second set. Nadal, though, broke Medvedev in the first service game, grabbing an early lead, reaping the benefits of the Russian's two double faults. Following that, both players held their next two service games. With a 3-2 lead on serve, Nadal played the match's longest game in his fourth service. The Spaniard saved seven break points on his serve to clinch the game and take a 5-3 lead in the set.

Daniil Medvedev seized a 40-0 lead in the game to stay in the set. Rafael, on the other hand, staged a return in the game, claiming three consecutive points to take the set to deuce. Despite failing to collect the first breakpoint, Rafa appeared uninterested in continuing the play, converting the second breakpoint and winning the second set 6-3. Thus, the Spaniard reached the Mexican Open 2022 final by upsetting the current World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in straight sets (6-3, 6-3).

Read more: Mexican Open 2022: Alexander Zverev fined $40,000 for the outburst

So far, the Spaniard has had an immensely successful season, winning the Australian Open 2022 and getting to the final of the Mexican Open. However, to add another ATP tournament to his resume, he will compete on the hard courts of Acapulco tomorrow, where he will meet 6th seed Cameron Norrie in the finals.