Rafael Nadal beats Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in Mexican Open semifinal

Less than a month after Rafael Nadal beat Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final, he won a Friday rematch too. But unlike the January meeting, Nadal's most recent win over Medvedev was quick and drama-free.

Nadal beat Medvedev 6-3, 6-3 in a semifinal match of the Mexican Open that took just over two hours to finish. The Australian Open final took five hours, 24 minutes with Nadal winning the lengthy battle 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.

"Every match is different," Nadal said, according to The Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "I said that yesterday. There are different conditions, and everything changes. It was a different game, with a very exciting second [set] where I made very few mistakes."

Nadal, 35, hasn't lost a match in 2022 and will now face England's Cameron Norrie in the final late Saturday night.

Despite his loss, Medvedev is still set to supplant Novak Djokovic as the new No. 1 player in the ATP rankings after Nole missed the Australian Open and lost in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships on Thursday.