Nadal defeats Medvedev in straight sets in Acapulco

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — 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.

“Every match is different, I said that yesterday, there are different conditions and everything changes,” Nadal said. “It was a different game, with a very exciting second (set) where I made very few mistakes.”

Nadal is now 14-0 in the season and will try to capture his fourth title in Acapulco, where he´s a fan favorite after winning the 2005, 2013 and 2020 titles.

“This week means a lot after what happened in Australia, I was able to remain focused, that means that I’m OK mentally and that´s important because there´s a tough final tomorrow,” Nadal said.

“It´s been a long career with more success that I could have imagined. To be playing here is a gift that I treasure and appreciate, I´m thankful for these opportunities.”

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

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.

“I don´t think that I played great today, my whole level on the match was not good enough to play against a player like Rafa,” said Medvedev.

“There´s not such a thing that I can take from this, to be honest I need to change everything I did today. I feel like I was missing some energy today.”

Earlier, Norrie