Rafael Nadal enters the Mexican Open in Acapulco for the 2022 season not expecting too high. Previously, he said the same thing before going down at the Australian Open.
In action for the first time since winning his 21st career Grand Slam title at the Australian Open this season, the fourth seed still looked stunning as he thrashed American Denis Kudla 6-3, 6-2 in the Mexican Open first round.
The Spaniard was in complete control throughout the match and did not show many signs of rust after three weeks out of the ATP tournament.
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With the win over Kudla, the former world number 1 matched his best start to the season at 11-0. He also claimed 11 straight wins at the start of the 2014 season before losing to Stan Wawrinka in the Australian Open final.
“So far it has been a positive start, a good win in straight sets. That’s always a very positive thing for confidence,” Rafael Nadal said.
“I thought I played a very solid game, a very good effort. Of course there are things I could have done better, but overall, I played well, so I can’t complain.”
In addition, the 2022 Australian Open champion is now bagging a comfortable winning streak at Acapulco after winning the title in the 2020 season.
Awaiting Nadal in the second round of the Mexican Open is Kudla’s compatriot Stefan Kozlov with whom he trained earlier this week.
Shortly after Nadal sealed the win, British tennis player Cameron Norrie added to his winning streak. He claimed his fifth straight win in a 7-6, 6-2 win over German Daniel Altmaier.
The sixth seed had to come back twice after falling behind with a break in the first set and break her opponent without replying to keep her opponent from winning the first set at 5-4.
Entering the tiebreak, the winner of the 2022 Delray Beach Open, Norrie has never been left behind again, even in the second set.
The next task that awaits Norrie is the second round match against the US tennis player, John Isner who must fight as hard as he can to overthrow the Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco with a tight result 7-5, 6-7, 7-6.
