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Nadal needed five sets and over five hours to beat Medvedev in last month's Australian Open finalRafael Nadal continued his stunning start to 2022 by beating incoming world number one Daniil Medvedev to set up a Mexican Open final against Britain's Cameron Norrie.
Norrie, 26, reached the final with a 6-4 6-4 win over Greece's world number four Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Norrie has won eight matches in a row after lifting the Delray Beach title.
The British number one, ranked 12th in the world, won the third ATP Tour title of his career in Florida last Sunday and now has the opportunity to claim another by beating Nadal.
The pair meet in the Acapulco final at 03:00 GMT on Sunday.
Nadal, 35, survived a second-set fightback from Medvedev, who will overtake Novak Djokovic at the top of the world rankings on Monday.
After a relatively straightforward opening set, the Spaniard had to see off 11 break points across two successive service games in the second set before clinching victory.
Nadal has won his opening 14 matches of 2022, recording the best start to a season in his career.
"I played some amazing points on those break points," said Nadal, who fought back from two sets down to beat 26-year-old Medvedev in the Melbourne final four weeks ago.
"In the second set, Daniil was playing very aggressive, it was a very difficult set. I feel lucky to win that set.
"I'm really happy with the way I played, against the number one player in the world, and happy to play in the final."
Norrie was ranked outside of the world's top 60 in February 2021Norrie is aiming for the first win of his career against 21-time Grand Slam champion Nadal, who beat the Briton at the Australian, Barcelona and French Opens last year.
Against Tsitsipas, Norrie showed why he has been successful by being solid on serve and from the baseline.
Norrie broke Tsitsipas's serve in the ninth game of each set before serving each out to love in the following game.
"I was able to dictate play to his backhand and defend my forehand quite well," said Norrie, who faced just one break point.
"I definitely felt that better in the second set, and I think my game is pretty good in these conditions."
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