Acapulco 2022: Rafael Nadal vs Tommy Paul preview, head-to-head & prediction | Abierto Mexicano Telcel
Match details
Fixture: (4) Rafael Nadal vs Tommy Paul.
Date: 24 February 2022.
Tournament: Abierto Mexicano Telcel 2022.
Round: Quarterfinal.
Venue: Acapulco, Mexico.
Category: ATP 500.
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt.
Prize money: $1,832,890.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Tennis TV.
Rafael Nadal vs Tommy Paul preview
Fourth seed Rafael Nadal will take on Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Abierto Mexicano Telcel on Thursday.
Nadal bested lucky loser Stefan Kozlov 6-0, 6-3 in the second round. The Spaniard completely dominated his opponent in the opening set and raced to a quick 4-1 lead in the next set as well.
Kozlov showed some signs of a comeback by breaking Nadal's serve for the first time in the match to get to 4-3. However, the American promptly lost his serve in the next game and the former World No. 1 closed out the match after that.
With the victory, Nadal is 12-0 for the season, marking his best-ever start to a year. He eclipsed his previous best start of 11-0, which he managed in 2014.
This one goes to 12 💪
For the first time in his career, @RafaelNadal starts a season with 12 consecutive wins, defeating Stefan Kozlov 6-0 6-3 at #AMT2022 https://t.co/wFxQ5iP1WG
Meanwhile, Tommy Paul had to dig deep to find a way past Dusan Lajovic 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-5 in the second round. He saved a couple of set points in the first set to take it to a tie-break. The American then needed six set points of his own to clinch the opener.
Lajovic reacted by stepping up his game in the second set to win it quite comfortably. The deciding set was a closely contested affair, with Paul edging out his opponent for the win.
Paul can ball 🤗
@TommyPaul1 edges Dusan Lajovic 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals at Acapulco for the second time.
#AMT2022 https://t.co/o33wM8ZY2w
Paul has now reached his fourth quarterfinal of the season. Other than his second-round exit from the Australian Open, the American has reached at least the last eight of every tournament he has competed in this year. His best result has been a semifinal appearance at the Delray Beach Open.
Rafael Nadal vs Tommy Paul head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between the two players, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Rafael Nadal vs Tommy Paul prediction
Nadal's unbeaten start to the year makes him the favorite to win this encounter, but Paul has been playing quite well too and should not be written off.
The American favors his forehand and will attempt to trouble the Spaniard with that shot. However, he'll have to contend with Nadal's topspin-heavy forehand as well. Paul was a little dicey on serve in his previous match, hitting six double faults. If he does that against the Spaniard, he will be punished.
Nadal, on his part, has been serving really well. He might not have hit a ton of aces, but his serve has enabled him to dictate the rallies right from the start.
An interesting fact to note is that two of Paul's three wins against top-10 players have been in Acapulco. He defeated Alexander Zverev a couple of years ago and Matteo Berrettini in the first round this year.
However, Nadal's game has been firing on all cylinders so far and it is hard to look past the Spaniard in this match.
Prediction: Rafael Nadal to win in straight sets.