Nadal defeats Medvedev, into Mexico final

This time around, there was no drama.

In a rematch of combatants from the the epic five-set Australian Open final, Rafael Nadal has defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3 6-3 to reach the Mexican Open final, where he will play Britain's in-form 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, where he's a fan favourite 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 officially overtake Noval Djokovic as 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 extended his hot streak in February by upsetting Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 6-4 in their semi-final.

After losing all four of his matches in January, Norrie is 10-1 in February and