Rafael Nadal defeats Cameron Norrie in straight sets to claim fourth Acapulco title

Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal has captured his fourth title in Acapulco with a straight-sets defeat of Cameron Norrie in the final of the ATP 500 event.

Nadal, playing four weeks after he captured a men's record 21st major at the Australian Open in Melbourne, triumphed 6-4, 6-4 over Norrie.

The Spaniard first won the Acapulco tournament in 2005 and took it again in 2013 and 2020.

He stormed through the Acapulco draw this past week without dropping a set to claim his third title of 2022.

The world number five has won 15 straight matches since returning from a foot injury that sidelined him for nearly six months last year.

He looked in fine form as he fended off a determined Norrie to wrap up the win in an hour and 54 minutes.

Norrie was the first to drop his serve in the contest, as a couple of unforced errors from the British sixth seed and a perfectly executed passing shot from his opponent gave Nadal a 3-2 lead in the first set.

Nadal held the upper hand to win the first set before drawing first blood in the second when he broke Norrie's serve in the opening game.

Norrie levelled immediately for 1-1, but Nadal broke again in the fifth game to move 3-2 up with an overhead smash.

Nadal then broke a third time to take a 5-2 lead.

Serving for the match, Nadal gave Norrie too much space, and the 26-year-old pulled a break back, but the Briton's tank was empty and he surrendered the match a couple of games later.

Nadal is now tied with compatriot David Ferrer and Austria's Thomas Muster for the most Acapulco titles.

Reuters/ABC