Rafael Nadal continued his tremendous form as he beat Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to set up a final with Cameron Norrie at the Mexican Open.
Nadal found this victory over Medvedev to be more straightforward than his remarkable five-set comeback win in last month's Australian Open final between the pair, winning 6-3, 6-3 in Acapulco.
The victory means the Spaniard moves on to 14-0 for the new season, which is already his best ever start to a year.
The soon-to-be world number one Medvedev at least made him work for it in the second set and earned 11 break points across two consecutive service games, but a determined Nadal rescued all 11 of them, including seven in a marathon nine-deuce game at 6-3, 3-2.
"I played some amazing points on the break points," said Nadal following the win. "The second set was very emotional. Daniil was playing very aggressive – drop shots, winners. It was a very difficult set. I feel lucky to win that set because he had a lot of chances."
The final on Sunday
He will now face sixth seed Norrie on Sunday, who also came through his semi-final against third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
The Brit – who won the Delray Beach Open last week – was particularly impressive on his serve, making 92 per cent of his first serves in the opening set. That dropped to 57 per cent in the second, but the quality of his baseline shots took him to victory.
