Acapulco 2022: Daniil Medvedev vs Rafael Nadal preview, head-to-head & prediction | Abierto Mexicano Telcel

Match details

Fixture: (1) Daniil Medvedev vs (4) Rafael Nadal.

Date: 25 February 2022.

Tournament: Abierto Mexicano Telcel 2022.

Round: Semifinal.

Venue: Acapulco, Mexico.

Category: ATP 500.

Surface: Outdoor hardcourt.

Prize money: $1,832,890.

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Tennis TV.

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Daniil Medvedev vs Rafael Nadal preview

Daniil Medvedev at the 2022 Australian Open.

Top seed Daniil Medvedev will take on fourth seed Rafael Nadal in an exciting semifinal clash at the 2022 Abierto Mexicano Telcel on Friday.

Medvedev attained one of his career goals as it was confirmed he would become the new World No. 1 on Monday. Novak Djokovic, the current top-ranked player, lost his quarterfinal match in Dubai against Jiri Vesely, paving the way for the Russian to replace him at the top.

Medvedev's set to become the first new World No. 1 since Andy Murray in 2016 and the first player other than Djokovic, Murray, Nadal and Roger Federer to hold the top spot since 2004.

In Mexico, Medvedev scored straight-sets wins over Benoit Paire and Pablo Andujar in the first couple of rounds. In the quarterfinals, the Russian defeated Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-3 to progress to his third semifinal of the season.

Nadal at the 2022 Australian Open.

Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, scored comfortable wins over Denis Kudla and Stefan Kozlov in the first two rounds. He was on track for another easy win after winning the opening set 6-0 in his quarter-final clash against Tommy Paul.

However, the American put up quite the fight in the second set. Paul led by a break twice, but couldn't capitalize on it as he failed to serve out the set at 5-4. He then saved a couple of match points to take the set to a tie-break, but Nadal eventually came out on top to complete a 6-0, 7-6(5) victory.

This was the Spaniard's 13th consecutive win of the season, marking his best-ever start to a calendar year.

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Daniil Medvedev vs Rafael Nadal head-to-head

The two have faced off five times previously, with Nadal leading 4-1 in the head-to-head. He won their most recent encounter at last month's Australian Open.

The Spaniard staged a comeback from two sets down in the final to win his 21st Grand Slam title.

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Daniil Medvedev vs Rafael Nadal prediction

Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev at the 2022 Australian Open.

Two of the most in-form players of the season will square off in what promises to be yet another intense battle between the duo.

Nadal is unbeaten so far this year and has momentum on his side. Medvedev, on the other hand, will be eager to gain some sweet revenge after his Australian Open heartbreak.

Nadal started off strongly in the quarterfinal match, but his level dipped a bit as the match progressed, with his serve letting him down. However, his forehand more than made up for it.

Medvedev is a strong returner and will capitalize on any missteps on the Spaniard's part. However, the Russian faced some serving issues of his own during his last-eight clash against Nishioka.

He won just 36% of his second-serve points and against Nadal, those numbers won't cut it. Both of them lost their serve thrice in their respective quarter-final matches, so there's some work to be done on either end.

Both players seem evenly matched heading into this contest. But Nadal's better head-to-head, winning momentum and crowd support should give him an edge against Medvedev.

Prediction: Rafael Nadal to win in three sets.