In humid Acapulco, a red-hot Cameron Norrie cooled the streaking Stefanos Tsitsipas in a battle of two of the in-form players on the ATP Tour.

Great Britain’s Norrie, champion a week ago in Delray Beach, extended his win streak to eight straight matches with an efficient 6-4, 6-4 semi-final win over the World No. 4. Tsitsipas, a finalist in Rotterdam earlier this month, had not dropped a set at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC until Friday’s contest.

In each of the two very similar sets, Norrie scored a break in the ninth game and then coolly served it out. Match point was emblematic of the match as a whole: Tsitsipas was unable to hurt his rock-steady opponent despite repeated baseline attacks, the Greek ultimately netting to send Norrie into his ninth ATP Tour final and eighth in the past two seasons.

“In general, [I hit] my forehand very loopy, my backhand very flat,” Norrie said of his tactics and variety in the one-hour, 18-minute match. “I was able to dictate play to his backhand and defend my forehand quite well. I definitely felt that better in the second set, and I think my game is pretty good in these conditions.”

The streak hits 🎱 @cam_norrie notches his 8th consecutive win, 6-4 6-4 over Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the Acapulco final. #AMT2022 pic.twitter.com/cSVvZVbrXm

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 26, 2022

The World No. 12 faced just one break point in the match, in the sixth game of the second set, but a Tsitsipas error ended the threat. Norrie created his only break chances in the two aforementioned games, but converted both times on a total of three break points.

He made a sublime 92 percent of his first serves in the opening set to keep the pressure off, but relied more on his baseline game behind a 57 per cent first-serve rate in set two.

“[My serve] really got me into the match and I was able to relax and was able to execute on the big points,” Norrie said, admitting to some early nerves on the stadium court.

He now awaits the winner of the showdown between soon-to-be World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev and 21-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal. The Briton said he’s “got the popcorn ready” as he looks forward to watching the Australian Open final rematch.

Norrie will be playing for his fourth ATP Tour title on Saturday, with his first coming in Los Cabos and his biggest in Indian Wells, both in 2021.

With an opportunity to close out the Golden Swing with a second February title, Albert Ramos-Vinolas marched on to the Santiago semi-finals with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis on Thursday.

The Spanish second seed reached the Cordoba final without dropping a set to start the month, and has now won four straight sets at the Chile Dove Men+Care Open to reach the last four. Ramos-Vinolas won a three-set final against Alejandro Tabilo in Cordoba, and a Santiago championship rematch is still on the cards after the Chilean’s 6-1, 6-4 result over Miomir Kecmanovic.

In a lefty vs. lefty matchup against Bagnis, Ramos-Vinolas fell behind 5-2 in the opening set before winning 11 of the last 13 games.

“He was playing better than me,” the Spaniard said of those first seven games. “I think from that moment I started to play really good, then the match changed a little bit. I’m really happy with my performance after the 5-2 start.”

Bagnis saved three break points to start the second set with a hold, but was broken in each of his next three service games as Ramos-Vinolas again finished with a flourish. He now holds a 4-0 ATP Head2Head record against the Argentine.

“I’m playing well. I’ve had a good swing in South America,” said the 34-year-old, who improved to 8-2 on the month. “After winning in Cordoba, it was not easy for me because here the conditions are changing a lot.”

Ramos-Vinolas will next face seventh seed Sebastian Baez, who won the only three-setter of the day, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, over Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro.

The opposite semi-final will see home favourite Tabilo take on Spain’s Pedro Martinez after the Spaniard’s 6-2, 6-2 victory over Yannick Hanfmann. It’s a second ATP Tour semi-final for Martinez, who reached the Kitzbuhel final in July.

“Today I felt really good on the court from the beginning,” said the fourth seed. “I was feeling comfortable, didn’t miss many balls. I was moving well, trying to make him play every point, and that’s what I did from the beginning until the end.

“I think I played a really good match and I will keep going like this for tomorrow.”

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic have the chance to put things right at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday.

The Croatians agonisingly lost out to Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in two tie-breaks in the 2021 final, but the top pairing in the ATP Rankings has another shot at lifting the trophy in the U.A.E after coming through a stern semi-final test against John Peers and Filip Polasek on Friday.

Mektic and Pavic were forced to stay cool under pressure as they saved all five break points they faced in their 6-4, 7-5 victory, winning 80 per cent (32/40) of points behind their first serves in the match.

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Standing between them and a first ATP Tour title of 2022 in Saturday’s final will be fourth seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus, after they came through a Match Tie-break against American-French duo Austin Krajicek and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 5-7, 6-3, 10-7.

Rolex Paris Masters champions Puetz and Venus are seeking their first win over Mektic and Pavic, who won the only previous meeting between the teams in Vienna last year.

No Play On The Santiago Clay
There was no doubles action at the Chile Dove Men+Care Open on Friday as both spots in the championship match were set by walkovers. Top-seeded Brazilian pairing Rafael Matos and Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves will face Swedish-American pairing Andre Goransson and Nathaniel Lammons in Saturday’s final, after their respective opponents both withdrew from the semi-finals.

The Jiri Vesely title charge shows no sign of abating in Dubai.

The Czech qualifier backed up his stunning quarter-final win over World No. 1 Novak Djokovic with another Top 20 victory on Friday, outlasting Denis Shapovalov in a three-hour, 12-minute epic to reach the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with a 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 7-6(3) victory.

“I think I’m having a dream run here so far,” said Vesely after the win. “I was just trying my best to really enjoy it as much as possible. It was my first ATP 500 semi-final and the only way to get through is just fight until the last point, and I’m very happy.”

Despite at times lacking some of the consistency that took him past Djokovic, Vesely continued to strike his groundstrokes powerfully throughout against the World No. 14 Shapovalov and now looks to claim a third ATP Tour title against Andrey Rublev on Saturday.

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At No. 123 in the ATP Rankings, Vesely was the lowest-ranked semi-finalist in the 30-year history of the Dubai event, but the Czech showed no signs of being overwhelmed as he won the first eight points of the match on his way to an early 3-0 lead.

In the pair’s first tour-level meeting, Shapovalov began to adjust to the clean, flat hitting of his opponent and the Canadian’s slow start did not prove costly. The 2022 ATP Cup winner found his rhythm to reclaim the break and then convert his second set point to clinch an absorbing tie-break.

Vesely reacted well to dropping his first set since the final round of qualifying, not allowing his 22-year-old opponent to get away. The Czech began to approach the net more regularly and, although Shapovalov fended off the only break point of the set, Vesely was not to be denied as he upped his level to take the second set tie-break and level the match.

A third set full of twists saw both players recover from 0/40 on their own serve before the match headed to a third tie-break. Vesely once again chose the crucial moments to produce his best, opening up a 4/1 lead that proved too big a deficit for Shapovalov to recover.

The Czech’s success was again based on an explosive serving performance. He ended with 15 aces and won 80 per cent (48/60) of points behind his first delivery overall.

Vesely admitted he had not seen his run to the final in Dubai coming. “Sometimes things happen, you don’t even know why,” he said. “I was pretty much down, the last couple of months, and suddenly this happens.

“Sometimes it happens so quick, and the only thing to do is stay patient, work hard every day and just wait for your chances.”

The Czech, who reached a career-high ranking of 35 in 2015, now faces a first ATP Head2Head meeting with second seed Andrey Rublev in Saturday’s championship match after the Russian defeated Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) earlier on Friday.

American Reilly Opelka has continued to rise up the ATP Rankings in the past two years, winning tour-level titles in Delray Beach and Dallas in that time.

A crucial factor behind the 24-year-old’s success has been his thunderous serve and powerful groundstrokes. Luckily, having joined TopCourt, the World No. 18 shares the key to his standout serve and brutal forehand with fans, while discussing how world-renowned coach Tom Gullickson helped his development.

Technique: Standing at 6’11”, Opelka possesses one of the biggest serves on Tour. The American shares the key aspects of his serve that will help you improve yours, discussing his grip change and more. The 24-year-old also shows fans the factors behind what makes his forehand such a powerful weapon.

Drills: In his TopCourt class, Opelka teaches three of his favourite drills that emphasise movement, shot placement, and on-court reaction. His ‘Catch and Release’ drill is one that will improve your movement, preparation and strength from the baseline, leading to more consistency and greater weight of shot.

Follow Opelka’s Tutorials at TopCourt.com.

Andrey Rublev is showing his mettle this week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The Russian bided his time after a fast start from Hubert Hurkacz in the semi-finals of the ATP 500 event on Friday, clinching a tense 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) victory over two hours, 23 minutes.

“I’m feeling super happy and super tired,” said Rublev, who is now one win from his fifth ATP 500 title. “I could not imagine that it would happen this week again, that I would be in a final, and I’m just happy.”

Marseille champion Rublev had already come from a set down to beat both Soonwoo Kwon and Mackenzie McDonald this week, and the Russian was forced to battle once again to reach his first final in Dubai. Having won the title last week in Marseille, Rublev admitted he was proud to reach another championship match despite the physical exertions of a busy schedule.

“I could not imagine how [Stefanos] Tsitsipas did it twice, because two years in a row he won the title in Marseille and [reached] the final in Dubai. I was thinking that was impossible to do, and somehow I did it this year. I still don’t know even myself how I did it, so let’s see what happens next.”

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Rublev lost to eventual champion Aslan Karatsev in the semi-finals in 2021, and he looked to be falling at the same stage again as a strong serving performance from Hurkacz had the World No. 7 under pressure early on.

The Pole struck the ball ferociously to force the only break of the first set in the second game of the match, barely giving his opponent a look-in on his own serve as he fired 10 aces and lost just three points behind his first serve on his way to the set.

With Hurkacz in full flow the onus was on Rublev to find a way back into the match. The Russian dug deep to engineer a break point at 30/40 in the fourth game of the second set, but the Hurkacz serve proved up to the task once again, three huge consecutive deliveries emphatically dismissing the threat.

Rublev showed no signs of frustration as he continued to chip away as Hurkacz’s level marginally dropped deep in the second set. The Russian took his chance at the crucial moment by breaking for 7-5 to level the match with a forehand winner.

The momentum appeared to be with the Rublev in an engrossing final set. The Hurkacz serve was called into action again to fend off four break points in the fourth game, but despite errors from both players creeping in as the tension grew, the match came down to a deciding tie-break.

It was Rublev who held his nerve to secure the narrowest of victories, taking the only point of the tie-break to go against serve after Hurkacz missed a forehand before serving out victory. It marks the first time that World No. 11 Rublev has beaten Hurkacz at tour-level, and the win moves Rublev’s match record at ATP 500 events to an impressive 59-20.

He will now face either sixth seed Denis Shapovalov or Jiri Vesely in Saturday’s championship match, two left-handers enjoying strong runs in Dubai. The second seed is wary of the threat of both.

“Vesely is playing really great this week, he beat so many good players,” said Rublev. “Novak [Djokovic], [Roberto] Bautista Agut. These two players have huge respect on tour, and obviously Novak is No. 1., and he [Vesely] beat both of them, which means this week he’s played incredible tennis. Shapo [Shapovalov] is Shapo. I’ve played some tough matches against him and he’s an amazing player with great strokes, so we’ll see what’s going to happen.”

Rafael Nadal opened a second straight match with a bagel set, but was made to work for an Acapulco quarter-final victory over Tommy Paul. The 6-0, 7-6(5) win sets up a rematch with Daniil Medvedev after the Spaniard’s five-set Australian Open comeback earned him a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title.

For both men, the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC is their first event since Melbourne.

Against Paul on Thursday, Nadal dropped just 10 points in the opening set but met real resistance beyond that in hot and humid conditions. The fourth seed dictated early before the American began to use his athleticism to great effect, regularly getting the better of rallies in a second set that lasted over 90 minutes.

“I think I played one of the best sets since a long time ago,” Nadal said of the opener. “I played fantastic in the first set. In the beginning of the second I made a couple of mistakes, and then he started playing better and better. The set became a little bit crazy with a lot of breaks.”

With Paul up a break 2-1 in the second, a string of four games against serve kept the American out in front. The action heated up as Paul used a flamboyant volley finish on his way to a second break of the set. Nadal later answered with a hot shot of his own, firing a trademark on-the-run forehand pass, but it was not enough to prevent Paul from breaking again for 4-3.

Nadal broke for the sixth and final time in the match to stop his opponent from serving out the set, then saved two break points in a pair of lengthy rallies to edge ahead for the first time in the frame at 6-5. It was Paul’s turn to save two break points, which doubled as match points, in the 12th game.

Down 0-2 to start the tie-break, Nadal won four straight points to take a lead he would never relinquish.

13, and counting💪 @RafaelNadal improves to 13-0 on the season with a 6-0 7-6 victory over Tommy Paul at Acapulco. #AMT2022 pic.twitter.com/YIXfgAWTi0

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 25, 2022

Previewing the semi-final showdown against Medvedev, Nadal was full of praise for the soon-to-be World No. 1: “Everybody knows how difficult it is to play against Daniil. I know I have to play at my highest level if I want to have any chance, and that’s what I’m going to try. I have to play my game.

“Everybody knows how difficult the final was in Australia. Tomorrow is going to be another battle. I know he’s playing well, plenty of confidence… I am excited to play that match.”

Home favourite Hans Hach Verdugo and American John Isner won a second straight Match Tie-break to upset the top seeds in the Acapulco quarter-finals on Thursday.

The Mexican/American pairing upset Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, 5-7, 6-3, 10-5, to reach the last four at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. In the opening round, they saved a match point to edge Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk and Oscar Otte, 16-14 in a Match-Tiebreak.

Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara also advanced to the semis via a Match Tie-break, knocking out third seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, 4-6, 6-3, 10-6.

Fourth seeds Putz/Venus survive in Dubai
Tim Puetz and Michael Venus also got through some late drama as they booked a semi-final spot at the Dubai Duty Free Championships. The German/Aussie pairing scored a 4-6, 6-3, 10-4 win against Andrey Golubev and Fabrice Martin.

They’ll face Austin Krajicek and Edouard Roger-Vasselin next, after the American/French duo beat Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski, 6-4, 7-6(0).

Strong work from Santiago seeds
Both seeded teams in action at the Chile Dove+Men Care Open walked away as winners following a pair of close calls. In an all-Brazilian matchup, top seeds Rafael Matos and Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves were 7-6(2), 7-5 winners over Orlando Luz and Thiago Monteiro. 

Second seeds Nathaniel Lammons and Andre Goransson needed an extra frame to edge France’s Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul, 6-4, 6-7(4), 11-9.