2020 Mexican Open Final: Rafael Nadal defeats Taylor Fritz to clinch his third title in Acapulco
Rafael Nadal continued his dominance at the Mexican Open as he completed his hat-trick title win at the Acapulco Princess Mundo Imperial stadium in Mexico.
Playing an extremely no-nonsense match against Taylor Fritz in the final, Nadal raced towards the victory line and bagged his 85th career title. With the victory, the Spaniard ensured that he is equally capable of winning on hard courts as he is on his favorite red clay.
The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC previously saw Nadal win on clay twice- in 2005 and 2013. Nearly seven years later, with the Mexico Open now being held on hard courts, he reasserted his dominance once again as he won the title for the third time in the country.
Nadal has been sensational throughout the tournament. After his quarter-final exit against Dominic Thiem at the Australian Open, he lost the top ranking to Novak Djokovic, who went on to win the year's first Grand Slam and also collected his fifth title in Dubai this week. Into Acapulco, the Spaniard did not drop a single set and was simply ruthless in all his matches.
Meanwhile, Fritz also needs to be lauded for a commendable outing in Mexico. The American gave it his all against the 19-time Grand Slam champion but it was all in vain. Nadal proved to be too powerful for the youngster and defeated him in straight-sets, 6-3, 6-2.
After the match, Nadal said in the on-court interview:
"I couldn’t be happier. I played a great event from the beginning to the end. Acapulco was the first big title that I won in my career, so to be able to stay here after 15 years is amazing. I can’t thank enough the people who make me feel at home every single time."