Daniil Medvedev claims first title of 2022 after downing Cameron Norrie

ATP Tour
Daniil Medvedev unhappy

World No 1 Daniil Medvedev claimed his first title of the season when he defeated Cameron Norrie 7-5, 6-0 to win the Abierto de Tenis Mifel in Los Cabos on Saturday night.

Medvedev has been dominant all week and did not drop a set on his way to claiming his 14th career title.

He has had a few close calls this season, losing finals at the Australian Open, Hertogenbosch and Halle in 2022.

Medvedev saw off Wimbledon semi-finalist Norrie with minimum fuss despite a tight opening set.

“Every match was very good, but the final is always special,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview.

“In the final you play the best player of this week, so it’s always a high-level match and I’m really happy that I managed to show some good level, some good shots in such an important match.”

Medvedev hadn’t won a final since the 2021 US Open and in overcoming Norrie was able to snap a five-match losing streak in championship matches.

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“The good thing about tennis is that in one week you can turn around your season,” added Medvedev in his post-match press conference.

“Coming here I had lost five finals in a row. That’s not nice, I want to do better.

“You never know if it’s going to happen or not, and for sure before this final I was a little bit nervous, a little bit more than usual. But now I’m really happy [to have won one].”

Daniil Medvedev in action
Daniil Medvedev

Medvedev had a moment of concern while serving for the first set at 5-4, ultimately relinquishing his break as Norrie threatened a comeback.

The World No 1 realised it was too soon to panic and stuck to his guns, rattling off eight games in a row to close out the championship.

“First set we broke each other two times to be at 5-all and he actually came back from 40/15 and I didn’t play bad in that game at 5-4,” Medvedev said on court.

“So I knew I just had to stay there. Actually bleeding helped me I think a little bit so I could hold my nerve a little bit more. Since then I just managed to play good and it was enough today.”

“It was not easy. Cam is an amazing player, so it was really intense,” Medvedev said.

“When you play against Cam, you know that you have to fight for every point.”

Norrie won his first full ATP Tour title last year in Los Cabos but fell just one match short of retaining his trophy.

“I fought as hard as I could but Daniil, he was too good,” Norrie said during the trophy presentation.

“Well done to you and your team, definitely deserved it this week.”

Cameron Norrie plays a shot
Cameron Norrie

The loss aside Norrie is looking good for a deep run at the US Open with five-set matches suiting his game.

Medvedev moves up to fifth in the ATP Race To Turin thanks to the 250 points he has banked in Mexico.

Both men will now jet to Montreal to take their places in a star-studded draw.

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Cameron Norrie Daniil Medvedev

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