Rafael Nadal’s first two titles at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC (2005, 2013) were clinched on red clay. The top-seeded Spaniard completed his Acapulco hat trick on a hard court with a convincing 6-3, 6-2 victory against American Taylor Fritz.
”I couldn’t be happier. I played a great event from the beginning to the end,” Nadal said. “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.”
Nadal secured his 85th tour-level singles title and his first of the season. He stormed through the draw without dropping a set and lost an average of five games per match. Nadal moved to 20-2 in Acapulco, joining David Ferrer and Thomas Muster as the only players to win at least three singles titles at this event.
The 33-year-old proved to be particularly dangerous this week in return games. He led the tournament in return games won (54%, 22 of 41) and converted 22 of 35 break points (63%).
”After not competing since Australia, it’s an important week for me and an important moment,” Nadal said. “I played solid, with the right intensity and the right passion, and my forehand worked well.
“This title doesn’t mean that I will have a great season. It means another good start of the season for me. It gives me confidence, allows me to be in a privileged position in the ATP Race [To London]. At the end of the day, I’m still competing for these feelings that I am having right now. Regardless of the result, I am always happy after playing here. Now imagine how I am after getting the title!”
Despite the loss, Fritz can be pleased with reaching his fifth ATP Tour final (1-4) and his first at an ATP 500 event. He and 2017 champion Sam Querrey are the only Americans to reach the singles final in tournament history. The 22-year-old will move to a new career-high FedEx ATP Ranking of No. 24 on Monday.

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Australia 351 (M Marsh 96, Smith 56, Warner 51, Maharaj 5-123, Philander 3-59) and 227 (Bancroft 53, Maharaj 4-102, Morkel 3-47) beat South Africa 162 (de Villiers 71*, Starc 5-34) and 298 (Markram 143, de Kock 83, Starc 4-75, Hazlewood 3-61) by 118 runs

Mitchell Starc missed out on a hat-trick but Australia had little trouble in wrapping up a 118-run win on the fifth morning in Durban, where they took a 1-0 lead in the four-match series. Bad light had halted Australia’s march to victory on the fourth evening with just one wicket required, so it was possible that it could have taken just a single ball to end the game on day five. In the end, it took 22 deliveries.

Josh Hazlewood confirmed the result by trapping Quinton de Kock lbw for 83 in the fourth over of the day, as South Africa were dismissed for 298. Morne Morkel finished not out on 3. Starc had been denied the chance to bowl for a hat-trick late on day four after he bowled Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada with what became his last two balls of the day, as the umpires declared that the light was sufficient only for spin bowling. He instead bowled for his hat-trick with the first ball of the fifth day and rapped de Kock on the pads, but the ball was sliding down leg.

The result gives Australia a good start as they aim to maintain their remarkable record of having not lost a Test series in South Africa since readmission. The teams now move on to Port Elizabeth for the second Test, which begins on Friday.

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