The perfect journey of Rafael Nadal in 2022 does not seem to have limits, nor those of the virtual number one in the world of the ATP. The Spanish tennis player is in his third consecutive final of the season, in as many tournaments and signed the pass after defeating Daniil Medvedev for the second time, in this case in the semifinals of the Acapulco tournament. A precise and resilient Nadal unhinged the Russian tennis player (6-3, 6-3) in the reissue of the Australian Open final, showing that he has the measure of the one who will be the reference in the ranking starting Monday. Rafa will face Cameron Norrie , who defeated Tsitsipas, in the final.
Reissue of the final of the Australian Open as the main course in the semifinals of the Acapulco tournament. On one side of the court, a Daniil Medvedev with a thirst for revenge but a job well done in the tournament, since since his previous victory, he made sure to come out on Monday as the new number one in the ATP ranking on the lists. In the other, a Rafael Nadal in search of his thirteenth consecutive victory in 2022, at 35 years old, and ready to win again after the historic conquest of Melbourne.
A real great game, possibly the best that can be seen on the circuit at the moment, and it began with the Balearic hitting first and showing that his beginnings in Acapulco are being meteoric. He didn’t get, as in the two previous matches, a Rafa starting bagel, but he did break the service of the giant Medvedev , who was not such on the Mexican court.
Nadal , insurmountable on serve, used a high percentage of firsts and Medvedev’s discontinuity in return games to, without giving up a single break point, take the initiative and win the first set 6-3. The favorite for the game had been the Russian at all times… until the game started and the Manacor machine started to work.
The clash was tough despite the result and Rafa ‘s sobriety and in the second set he would reach much higher levels, which would force the champion of 21 Grand Slam tournaments to bring out his best version on the mental plane to withstand Medvedev ‘s attacks, now yes , much more aggressive with the rest.
Nadal survives and wins
Daniil did not save his initial service, but in each turn of Nadal ‘s he raised to get the key break to send the match to the third set. Rafa, showing his best tennis, was surviving again and again until he lifted eleven break points in two endless games, the fourth and sixth of the second set, to maintain the advantage in an almost impossible that led him to subtract for the game.
More than two hours had passed since the beginning, but Nadal ‘s physical and mental strength prevailed once again against a Medvedev who was very tired in both facets and without finding his best tennis. For the second consecutive time in 2022, Rafa took the cat to the water and raised his arms against the Russian, who will be number one but is still unable to take revenge for what happened in Australia. Rafael Nadal Parera will fight for his third consecutive title of the season in Acapulco , where Cameron Norrie –Tsitsipas’s executioner– will be his rival.
