Daniil Medvedev gears up for US Open title defence with 'special' win in Mexico

World No 1 Daniil Medvedev won his first ATP title of 2022, sailing past defending champion Cameron Norrie 7-5, 6-0 in the final of the hardcourt tournament in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Medvedev snapped a five-match losing streak in finals - a stretch that included his agonising, five-set loss to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final in February.

With the title, Medvedev ramped up preparations for his US Open title defence.

A ban on Russian players at Wimbledon due to the invasion of Ukraine, forced Medvedev to miss the grass court major and he arrived in Mexico for the ATP 250 event for his first tournament since June.

Most of Medvedev's success over the years have come on hardcourts and he did not lose a set this week en route to the title.

"Every match was very good, but the final is always special," Medvedev said.

"In the final you play the best player of this week, so it's always a high-level match and I'm really happy that I managed to show some good level, some good shots in such an important match."

Medvedev needed treatment in the 11th game on Saturday as he scraped his hand on the court and drew blood while hitting a ball, shortly after left-handed Norrie had saved two set points to level the match at 5-5 in the opening set.

The Russian, who won his maiden Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows last year, went up a gear from there, winning the next eight games to seal the contest.

"It was not easy. Cam is an amazing player, so it was really intense," Medvedev said. "When you play against Cam, you know that you have to fight for every point.

"Actually bleeding helped me I think a little bit so I could hold my nerve a little bit more. Since then I just managed to play good and it was enough today."

Norrie was tough