“There is no way to beat Rafael Nadal” Cameron Norrie amazed by the Spaniard’s strength


“There is no way to beat Rafael Nadal” Cameron Norrie amazed by the Spaniard’s strength

Rafael Nadal and Cameron Norrie

World No. 12 Cameron Norrie had to settle for the runners-up trophy in the finals of the 2022 Acapulco Open as Rafael Nadal proved to be too good. Nadal won the match 6-4, 6-4 in just under 2 hours to win the title in Acapulco for the 4th time in his 5th final appearance at the tournament in Mexico.

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While Norrie dropped a set against John Isner in the second round in what was a tight game, Nadal had reached the finals without dropping a set and kept his streak to lift his career’s 91st title without dropping any set throughout the week. While Norrie had his own moments of brilliance against the Spaniard, it came down to the discipline in which Nadal edged out Cam in terms of breakpoint opportunities and double faults.

“It’s a very complicated question. I played against him three times last year and had an idea of how he played. The conditions were pretty good for both of us today and, as I said before, he got past me when he had to: that’s tennis. Nadal is a player who gives you nothing and you have to be the one who wins the points. 

“He is focused from the first minute of the match and he hardly gives you any free points. It feels like there is no way to beat it. On the other hand, if you give him free points, he knows how to take advantage of them,” said Norrie during his post-match press conference where he talked about how difficult it is to deal with Nadal having lost all 4 of their meetings so far against the Spaniard.

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Title defense for Cameron Norrie next

Rafael Nadal and Cameron Norrie
Rafael Nadal and Cameron Norrie with their respective trophies won at the 2022 Acapulco Open

With a run to the finals in Mexico, Norrie will now be heading to California for the 2022 Indian Wells Masters where he will be the defending champion this year having won the title in October 2021 in the revised schedule of what is called the ‘5th Grand Slam’ of tennis for the grandness and importance of the tournament.

Norrie will be confident moving into the tournament having on the title when he was ranked outside the Top-20 and is currently now just 2 places away from breaking into the Top-10. The British No. 1 is also scheduled to play at the 2022 Miami Masters that is scheduled after the tournament in Indian Wells with the two events taking up the entire month of March.

Also Read: Latest ATP Rankings post the 2022 Acapulco Open