"I played fantastic" said Rafael Nadal after win over Tommy Paul

Rafael Nadal opened a second straight match with a bagel set but was made to work for an Acapulco quarter-final victory over Tommy Paul with the final score being 6-0 7-6(5).

Nadal dropped just 10 points in the opening set but met real resistance beyond that in hot and humid conditions. The fourth seed dictated early before the American began to use his athleticism to great effect, regularly getting the better of rallies in a second set that lasted over 90 minutes. On the win, Nadal said:

"I think I played one of the best sets since a long time ago. I played fantastic in the first set. In the beginning of the second I made a couple of mistakes, and then he started playing better and better. The set became a little bit crazy with a lot of breaks."

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Nadal will paly Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal on that matchup he said:

"Everybody knows how difficult the final was in Australia. Tomorrow is going to be another battle. I know he's playing well, plenty of confidence... I am excited to play that match."