Nadal, New No. 1 Medvedev Will Meet In Acapulco SFs; Tsitsipas Also Advances

Daniil Medvedev has already clinched the No. 1 ranking coming Monday, but he has more work to do. Specifically, he wants revenge on Rafael Nadal for a historic Australian Open collapse last month.

Medvedev, who solidified No. 1 after Novak Djokovic’s shock defeat in Dubai, cruised into the semifinals with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Yoshihito Nishioka.

Medvedev knew his No. 1 fate prior to the match.

“The first goal for me was to still win today because I’m here to try to win every match I play. But it’s definitely some great news,” Medvedev said of his No. 1 ranking.

Nadal also rolled into the last four easing past a third straight American for in Tommy Paul 6-0, 7-6(5). Paul led by a break multiple times in the second, but once he failed to serve out the set, Nadal gained final control to improve to 12-0 in 2022.

“I think I played one of the best sets since a long time ago,” Nadal said of the first set. “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.”

So the rematch from Melbourne is set.

“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,” said Nadal.

“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,” he added. “I am excited to play that match.”

Said Medvedev, “I have to learn from the best, which is him, Roger, Novak, Andy. Always when they were losing a tough fight, they were trying to get their revenge. Sometimes they managed to do it, sometimes not. That’s what I’m going to try to do if I play Rafa.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas quietly kept pace upending Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-4. Looking to return to the finals, the Greek will meet Indian Wells champion Cameron Norrie who won his seventh straight match defeating lucky loser Peter Gojowczyk 6-0, 6-1. The German only advanced when his countryman Alexander Zverev was disqualified Wednesday morning.

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