Acapulco 2022 Semi-final – Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev, Preview, Head-To-Head, and Prediction

The world will never forget the final match between Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open this year. The match was truly one of the best final matches in Grand Slam history. After losing the first two sets to Daniil Medvedev, Rafa’s comeback to win was truly remarkable.

Now, we are going to see the repeat of that incredible match in the semi-final at the Mexican Open. Recently, Medvedev became the new no.1 after Novak Djokovic lost his quarter-final match in Dubai. Therefore, the Russian should have extra motivation to take on the ATP 5th-ranked player, Rafael Nadal. Besides, Daniil will also look for revenge against Rafa for that Australian open loss.

Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev: Preview

Both Rafa and Medvedev are playing their first tournament at Acapulco after the Australian Open. In the previous rounds, Daniil beat Benoit Paire, Pablo Andujar, and Yoshihito Nishioka to reach the semi-finals. In all the previous matches, the Russian pretty much had no troubles, as he didn’t lose a single set.

Watch This Story: War of words between Rafael Nadal and Denis Shapovalov at the Australian Open 2022

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal has also yet to lose a set in this tournament. Both the players showed their absolute dominance throughout the previous rounds. En route to the semi-final match, Rafa beat all the three Americans- Denis Kudla, Stefan Kozlov, and Tommy Paul. Fans are eagerly waiting to see a tremendous fight, just like the Australian Open final.

Nadal vs Medvedev: Head-to-Head

Medvedev doesn’t have a great record against the Spaniard. The Russian is 1-4 against Rafa in terms of their head-to-head battle. Daniil’s recent loss came at the Australian Open 2022 final, as everyone knows. However, Rafa always found it tough to beat the Russians, as they had plenty of long battles in the past.

Rafa played against Daniil in two Grand Slam finals, the 2019 US Open and the 2022 Australian Open. Incidentally, both the matches went to the distance. Medvedev’s only win came against Rafa at the 2020 Nitto ATP finals, where the Russian made a tremendous comeback to win against Rafa. At Acapulco, this will be their sixth meeting, as Medvedev looks forward to taking revenge against Rafa.

Nadal vs Medvedev: Prediction

Earlier in the Summer, the scar of that Australian Open loss is probably still fresh for the Russian player. However, he didn’t show signs of those scars as he cruised past every opponent. At the same time, Rafa also didn’t show any fatigue after some exhausting few months.

In terms of strategy and gameplay, Daniil would not want to make the same mistakes as he did in that Australian Open final. After winning the first two sets, he took his foot off the pedal, and let Rafa come back into the match. As for Rafa, he would want to repeat the same thing, but can’t afford to go a set down. As the tennis will be played in three sets, Nadal would like to take an early lead.

Prediction: Daniil Medvedev will win in three sets after a tough battle in the first two sets.

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