Red-Hot Rafael Nadal wins the 2022 Mexican Open final

35-year-old Spanish great Rafael Nadal defeated Britain's Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to win the Mexican Open, extending his career-best start for a season to 15-0 as he won his 91st ATP title.

With the victory at Acapulco, Nadal has now won his third title in 2022, including the Australian Open earlier in January for his record 21st Grand Slam singles title.

Nadal is also three victories from tying Ivan Lendl's total of 94 Championships for third place among most championships in the Open Era - which Jimmy Connors currently leads with 109 followed by Swiss great Roger Federer who has 103.

"At the end of the day I've always said that this kind of records needs to be measured once your career is over."

"Today the most important thing is that I have won a prestigious tournament."

"Acapulco is a tournament that started with five of the top six players in the world.

"It was complicated, and I ended up taking the victory. Looking back, a few weeks ago this would have looked impossible. It's amazing how things can change in such a short span, from not being able to practice and now to be where I am today." Nadal said.

Nadal won his fourth Mexican Open in Acapulco (2005, 2013 and 2020), winning his first title when he was 18 and holds the record for the youngest winner in tournament history as well as the oldest at 35 years of age.

"It's been a long career. The first time I came here, everything was new for me, and after all these years you start to appreciate more each victory than when you were an 18-year-old boy." Nadal added.

The Mexican Open is an ATP 500-level tournament played on hard courts, and this year four of the top-five ranked players in the world started in the draw: Daniil Medvedev (2), Alexander Zverev (3), Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) and Nadal (5).

Russia's Daniil Medvedev, who will rise to No. 1 in the rankings on Monday, lost again to Nadal in the semifinals.

While Alexander Zverev was thrown out of the tournament for violently smashing his racket on the umpire's chair moments after losing a doubles match.

Stephanos Tsitsipas on the other hand lost to Cameron Norrie in the other semifinal.