Daniil Medvedev gears up for US Open title defence with 'special' win in Mexico

Russian world No 1 defeats Cameron Norrie for Los Cabos title - his first ATP triumph of the year

Daniil Medvedev of Russia celebrates his Los Cabos title win after defeating Cameron Norrie in the final. EPA

World No 1 Daniil Medvedev won his first ATP title of 2022, sailing past defending champion Cameron Norrie 7-5, 6-0 in the final of the hardcourt tournament in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Medvedev snapped a five-match losing streak in finals - a stretch that included his agonising, five-set loss to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final in February.

With the title, Medvedev ramped up preparations for his US Open title defence.

A ban on Russian players at Wimbledon due to the invasion of Ukraine, forced Medvedev to miss the grass court major and he arrived in Mexico for the ATP 250 event for his first tournament since June.

Most of Medvedev's success over the years have come on hardcourts and he did not lose a set this week en route to the title.

"Every match was very good, but the final is always special," Medvedev said.

"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 needed treatment in the 11th game on Saturday as he scraped his hand on the court and drew blood while hitting a ball, shortly after left-handed Norrie had saved two set points to level the match at 5-5 in the opening set.

The Russian, who won his maiden Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows last year, went up a gear from there, winning the next eight games to seal the contest.

"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.

"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."

Norrie was tough opponent. Ranked 12th, he has taken his tally of ATP titles to four since winning his first at Los Cabos last year. He had reached his 10th final since the start of 2021 by beating second-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals.

Once Medvedev found his groove, however, Norrie had no answer.

Medvedev has stamped himself the early US Open favourite, given the likely absence of Djokovic because of his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and the uncertainty surrounding injured Nadal.

The Spaniard, ranked third in the world, pulled out of the Montreal Masters this week as he recovers from an abdominal tear suffered at Wimbledon.