Something had to give in the Acapulco final between Rafael Nadal and Cameron Norrie, each man entering with a variety of personal win streaks on the line.

In hot and humid conditions, Nadal didn’t give an inch in a 6-4, 6-4 victory. The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC title is the 91st of Nadal’s storied career, and his fourth in Acapulco.

“It always has been a very special place,” Nadal said of the host city. “The energy that the people from Mexico bring to me is very unique.”

Fresh off a dominant victory over soon-to-be World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, Nadal extended his career-best start to an ATP Tour season to 15-0. Just as he did in 2020 in Acapulco, he won the title without dropping a set. Nadal has now won 13 sets in a row dating back to the Australian Open, and 20 straight in Acapulco.

The victory was also an 11th straight in ATP Tour finals; it was Nadal’s 128th appearance in a title match.

“I went through some very difficult moments during the match that I was able to save, and then I took advantage when I had the chances,” said Nadal, who is both the youngest and oldest champion at the event.

“I’m very pleased. It was a very important title for me, so I can’t be happier.”

Norrie saw an eight-match winning streak snapped after his Delray Beach title last week.

Taking the initiative 💪@RafaelNadal cracks a decisive forehand blow to move ahead of Cam Norrie in Acapulco. #AMT2022 pic.twitter.com/s1aM5FpcHC

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 27, 2022

The Briton did very little wrong in the opening set, but Nadal seized on a trio of misses in the fifth game to create the only break point of the set. He took matters into his own hands there, uncorking a forehand passing shot to land the first real blow of the contest.

“Cameron is a very solid player, a tricky player,” Nadal said post-match. “He makes you feel that you cannot play comfortably against him at all.”

Just as he did against Medvedev in the semis, Nadal scored an instant break to drive home the advantage in set two. 

But in the next game, one streak did end for Nadal: a run of 16 consecutive break points saved, dating back to his quarter-final win over Tommy Paul. Norrie earned his first break points of the match at 0/40, and after Nadal erased those three chances, Norrie buckled down in a 20-ball rally to take his fourth for 1-1.

Undeterred after falling behind 1-2, Nadal recovered the advantage and then some by reeling off four straight games to put himself on the brink of Acapulco glory.

At the second time of asking, he served out the title tilt after a sublime pick-up volley brought up match point.

Nadal has now bookended his record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title with two others, starting with an ATP 250 trophy at the Melbourne Summer set in January.

A seven-time ATP Tour singles champion, Stefanos Tsitsipas tasted doubles glory for the first time on Saturday night in Acapulco. 

Teaming with former doubles World No. 9 Feliciano Lopez, the Greek got it done with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over fourth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

The champions never trailed in the game score of either set, but after leading by an early break in the opener, they saved two set and break points at 4-5 on the Lopez serve, including one on a sudden-death point.

After breaking in the ensuing game, the Spanish/Greek duo won another sudden-death point, this one doubling as a set point of their own. After a Lopez drop volley opened the court, Tsitsipas fired a backhand winner to avoid a tie-break.

What a point! 💪 @steftsitsipas and @feliciano_lopez making some magic happen in the final at #AMT2022 pic.twitter.com/rsOyfj2pXz Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 27, 2022

The heart of the second-set action came early, as both teams created break points in consecutive games. After Lopez/Tsitsipas broke on their second chance for 2-1, they erased two break points to consolidate on the Greek’s serve. Those were the last break chances of the match, with the champions saving six of seven in the contest.

Lopez sealed victory with an ace, the pair’s sixth of the match, earning a warm embrace from his teammate.

The Spaniard is now a six-time ATP Tour doubles champion, improving his record to 6-6 in finals. Tsitsipas levels at 1-1 after defeat in the 2019 Miami final with partner Wesley Koolhof.

Tsitsipas said: “It will give me confidence to win this title here in Acapulco. We had a lot of fun with Feliciano playing in front of many Mexican fans this week. We plan to team up again in the future.”

Lopez said: “It was at the Laver Cup that we spoke about playing some doubles together. We did well in Vienna losing to the Colombians and here we won our first title together. I just love playing in Mexico.”

Sebastian Baez’s rapid rise does not appear to be slowing down any time soon.

The Argentine, who competed in last year’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, reached his first ATP Tour final on Saturday when he battled past Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in the semi-finals of the Chile Dove Men+Care Open in Santiago.

“I feel good because today was such a tough match because Ramos has a lot of experience, he’s a great player,” Baez said. “I’m happy to have won this match and I have a new opportunity tomorrow.”

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Baez will face home favourite and recent Cordoba finalist Alejandro Tabilo or Spaniard Pedro Martinez for the trophy. The winner will become a first-time ATP Tour titlist.

The seventh seed in Santiago, Baez had to work hard to make the championship clash. The 21-year-old saved 10 of the 12 break points he faced against second-seeded Ramos-Vinolas to triumph after two hours and 33 minutes.

“[The match] had a lot of important moments, not just in the first or in the third set, because it was all the match,” Baez said. “All the match was so close. In some moments, maybe today I had a little bit of luck.”

The key was second-serve success. Baez won 65 per cent of his second-serve points compared to 50 per cent for Ramos-Vinolas. That helped the Argentine take a 2-0 ATP Head2Head lead against the 31-year-old lefty, whom he also defeated at this year’s Australian Open.

Baez began last season outside the Top 300 of the ATP Rankings. He reached a career-high No. 72 earlier this month and is projected to climb higher than that on Monday thanks to his efforts in Chile.

Did You Know?
Baez improved to 26-2 in Chile at all levels since the beginning of last season.