Nadal crushes Kudla to advance in Acapulco, remains perfect in 2022

In a stellar performance on Tuesday night, Rafael Nadal brushed past American Denis Kudla to advance to the second round at the Abierto Mexicano Acapulco, maintaining his perfect start to the season.

The Spaniard looked confident in his 6-3 6-2 victory, hitting eight aces without a single double fault. Nadal was dominant on serve, winning an astounding 26 of 27 points behind his first serve. Furthermore, the Australian Open champion never faced a break point, as he dictated play with his penetrating groundstrokes and precision at the net.

The fourth seed lost only two points on serve in the entire first set, as Kudla was unable to contain his relentless attack, coupled with spectacular shot-making. The former World No.1 was clinical in his victory, obtaining two breaks in the second set to seal his victory after an hour and 16 minutes.

The 21-time Grand Slam champion faces another American in the second round, as lucky loser Stefan Kozlov pulled off an unbelievable comeback to defeat Grigor Dimitrov in a three-set thriller. Nadal will look to improve to 12-0 this season, after winning titles at both the Melbourne summer series and the Australian Open.