The Acapulco tournament represents a special date for Rafael Nadal and in this 2022 it also acts as an element to confirm that we are seeing the, so far, the best version of the Balearic at the beginning of the season. Rafa had never won the first two titles of the year, as he was able to complete with the combined Melbourne-Australian Open , but neither, as he achieved after defeating Kozlov , had he reached twelve consecutive wins at the start of the campaign.
Nadal ‘s best season to date, as far as the first few weeks are concerned, dated back to 2014. Then, the man from Manacor came close to the opening double by winning the Doha tournament, where he beat Rosol, Kamke, Gulbis , Gojowczyk and Monfils, and reaching the final at the Australian Open, where only Stanislas Wawrinka was able to beat him in a final in which Rafa, like so many other times in Melbourne, was the victim of his physical problems, in addition to the extraordinary game displayed by the Swiss.
So far in 2022, Nadal has got rid, in order, of Berankis, Ruusuovori and Cressy in the Summer Set in Melbourne, while in the Australian Open he was removing Giron, Hanfmann, Khachanov, Mannarinno, Shapovalov and Berrettini before knocking down Daniil Medvedev in a historic final. He had one win left to match, which he would achieve in the first round in Acapulco against Denis Kudla, and another to overcome, the one he won last morning against Denis Kozlov, who he did not give a chance to with a final score of 6-0, 6-3.
A cheated win
Nadal ‘s victims at this time are 12+1, as Angel Nieto already cataloged out of superstition, but in this case to bring precision closer to the case. Rafa, at the ATP 250 in Melbourne, prior to the Australian Open , won the title skipping a round due to the withdrawal of Dutchman Griekspoor before taking the court. In statistics, the victory does not count as the match was not played, but it did help him advance one round in the draw, from which he would emerge the winner two days later.
Rafa, after the victory against Kozlov, once again celebrated being able to play without physical problems that would reduce his competitiveness, although he did not pay attention to the statistics, not even in this case. «As a general rule I have never been aware of the numbers . If I play well, it is easier for the numbers to arrive, ”he assured.
