Tennis: Nadal scripts best start to a season, Medvedev keeps No.1 in sights

LOS ANGELES: Rafa Nadal extended his winning run in 2022 to 12 matches in his best start to a season in his career, dismissing American Stefan Kozlov 6-0 6-3 in Acapulco on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 tournament.

The 21-times Grand Slam champion, a three-time winner in the coastal resort town, arrived in Mexico having won an Australian Open tuneup event and the hardcourt major in Melbourne last month after missing a chunk of 2021 with a foot problem.

Kozlov was the Spaniard's practice partner on Monday when he was called in as a last-minute replacement for injured Frenchman Maxime Cressy in the main draw.

Barring a brief period in the second set when he converted his only breakpoint chance in the contest, Kozlov was no match for Nadal whose previous best start of 11-0 in 2014 ended with a defeat to Swiss Stan Wawrinka in the Australian Open final.

Next up for the 35-year-old will be another American in 39th-ranked Tommy Paul with a potential semi-final clash against top-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev, who he defeated in the Australian Open final from a two-sets deficit.

"It's always important to win as quick as possible but the most important thing is to win," Nadal said after his victory in an hour and 16 minutes in hot and humid conditions.

"Tonight has been straight sets, that's great news, and I'll try to be ready for tomorrow again against a tough opponent."

Medvedev earlier crushed Pablo Andujar 6-1 6-2 and put himself three wins away from victory at the tournament and rising to the world number one ranking for the first time.

Medvedev pretended like he might serve underhand on match point but instead thumped his seventh ace, eliciting a smile from the 68th-ranked Spaniard who played well but who could not break down the Russian's firm defense.

Medvedev will next face Japanesequalifier Yoshihito Nishioka and a title on Sunday for the Russian will guarantee his ascent to the world number one ranking replacing Serbian Novak Djokovic.

World number four Stefanos Tsitsipas also wasted little time in dispatching American qualifier J.J. Wolf, the French Open finalist sprinting to a 6-1 6-0 win in just 47 minutes in the last match of the evening on the main showcourt.

It was the 23-year-old Greek's fastest completed win in his career and he will next meet 59th-ranked American Marcos Giron, who earlier defeated Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-7(7) 6-4 7-6 (4), for a place in the semi-finals.