The 2022 edition of the ATP Mexico Open in Acapulco is all set for an enthralling finish with three of the top four seeds reaching the last four. These include new World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev and 21-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal. As ever, we at LWOT preview and predict both of the exciting semifinal clashes for you.
ATP Acapulco Semifinal Predictions
Cameron Norrie vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
Head to head: Norrie 0-1 Tsitsipas
After a tough opening round, Stefanos Tsitsipas has regrouped well to blow away his next two opponents with relative ease. The Greek is also slated to play the semi finals in doubles so we’ll wait and see if the heavy workload starts to take its toll on his body.
A disappointing start to 2022 including a first round Australian Open exit for Cameron Norrie has now been thrown to the shed somewhat by winning in Delray Beach and now a semi finals here. He’s played Tsitsipas only once before so the Brit doesn’t carry a lot of baggage of losing many times to the Greek.
Expect a great battle between the two with Norrie showcasing why he’s regarded so highly since a couple of years but Tsitsipas’ quality of serving and general baseline play is still slightly above than most. Tsitsipas moves on.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 3
Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev
Head to head – Nadal 4-1 Medvedev
Less than a month ago, these two produced a final for the ages at the Australian Open. What’s changed since? Not much except Daniil Medvedev is the new World No. 1. Can that give a further boost to the Russian? Time will tell.
Matchup wise, Rafael Nadal is not someone who Medvedev enjoys playing. The Spaniard’s heavy groundstrokes make it difficult for the Russian to maneuver the rallies the way he’d want to. That being said, Nadal did look a bit out of it in the second set against Tommy Paul.
For the first two sets at the Australian Open, Nadal came to the net plenty of times only to be passed by Medvedev almost every single time. Tactically what worked for Rafa that day was mixing it up with drop shots and not rushing to the net after every aggressive shot. Expect Rafa to play in a similar fashion to get the win but not without a spirited fight from Medvedev.
Prediction: Nadal in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
