For the first time on the ATP Tour this season, the top four seeds at a tournament all reached the semifinals. Now it will be No. 1 vs. No. 3 for the title at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel on Saturday night.
Daniil Medvedev and Cameron Norrie will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they battle for the trophy. Their only previous meeting came three years ago on the hard courts of Shanghai, where Medvedev cruised 6-3, 6-1.
Medvedev is clinging to his No. 1 ranking right now and he will keep it at least into the U.S. Open thanks to his successful trek to the Los Cabos final. The Russian has advanced with victories over Rinky Hijikata, Ricardas Berankis, and Miomir Kecmanovic–all in straight sets. Kecmanovic came out hot in the semis on Friday night but Medvedev took control starting in the first-set tiebreaker–his only ‘breaker of the week so far.
“(It was a) very tough match,” the top seed assured. “He started great and all the first set was a great level. (There were) so many tough points; so many points where I felt like I was close to getting the edge. The tiebreak was great.”
Norrie booked his spot in the final by beating Chun-Hsin Tseng, Radu Albot, and Felix Auger-Aliassime while surrendering just one set to Auger-Aliassime along the way. Now the 2021 champion has a chance to successfully defend his title.
“Especially winning last year, you want to come out and win the title,” the 12th-ranked Brit commented. “But [I’ve just] taken it one match at a time. It was a tough task at the beginning of the tournament and I got through a couple of matches…. It feels great to be in the final and especially to set up a meeting with the No. 1 in the world in Daniil.”
Unfortunately for Norrie, this is not a favorable matchup for him–as their previous result indicates. The left-hander relies on his consistency, defense, and change of pace to frustrate more erratic opponents. Medvedev can counter all of that and also inject far more power in his game, so look for the favorite to take care of business.
Pick: Medvedev in 2
WWW?
Medvedev in 2
Should be fun to watch…Med in 2.