ACAPULCO, Mexico — 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.