Medvedev, Nadal advance in ATP Acapulco

Daniil Medvedev has continued his pursuit of the world No.1 ranking with a routine first round win over Benoit Paire at the ATP 500 tournament in Mexico.

And likewise it was business as usual for Rafael Nadal as he breezed past 100th-ranked American Denis Kudla 6-3 6-2 in his first match since winning his 21st grand slam title at the Australian Open.

But the same could not be said for Australian John Millman.

Millman was forced to retire against American Marcus Giron when he suffered a freak injury after hitting the tennis ball into his own eye.

Giron was leading 7-6 (7-3) 2-0 when Millman decided he couldn't continue.

Medvedev proved too consistent for the flair of Paire to seal a 6-3 6-4 victory.

The 26-year-old Russian will overtake Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings if he wins the title in Acapulco.

Medvedev, who won the 2021 US Open and was a runner-up last month at the Australian Open, is playing in Mexico for the first time.

He has not played since his loss to Rafael Nadal at Melbourne Park last month.

"It's not easy to come back after some rest and some time off competition," Medvedev said, after he rallied from a break down in the second set against Paire.

"I managed to fight until the end against a very tough opponent and I'm happy that I managed to win."

Medvedev play either Alex Hernandez or Pablo Andujar in the next round.

If he wins this tournament, or if he reaches the Acapulco final and Djokovic does not win in Dubai, Medvedev will become the first player other than Djokovic, Roger Federer, Nadal or Andy Murray to hold the top spot since 2004.

Taking to the main showcourt after Medvedev's win, Nadal was in cruise control.

The 35-year-old Spaniard seemed to have some problems with the humidity on a