Rafael Nadal: When Will The 21-Time Grand Slam Winner Play Next?

Rafael Nadal is set to make his first appearance following his historic victory at the 2022 Australian Open in January.

Nadal has played two tournaments this year so far and has triumphed in both. The Spaniard began the year by competing in the Melbourne Summer Set 1, where he was the top seed. The 35-year-old laid down a fine momentum ahead of the calendar year's opening Grand Slam – the Australian Open, where he became the first-ever man to win 21 Grand Slam titles.

Nadal is currently in Mexico and will play in the first round of the Mexican Open, also called the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, in Acapulco. His opponent is World No. 105 Denis Kudla. The match is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.

The tournament will also see other stars such as Alexander Zeverv, Danill Medvedev, Grigor Dimitrov and Matteo Berrettini fight for the title.

Mexican Open: A record-breaking tournament for Nadal

Acapulco has had a special place in Nadal's career so far. He has won three titles in Mexico, one behind David Ferrer and Thomas Muster's record of four. Two out of Nadal's three titles have been record-breakers as they made him the youngest and the oldest player ever to win the tournament respectively, according to Tennis.com.

The Mallorca-based tennis star won his first Mexican Open title in 2005 when he was just 18 years old. The win saw Nadal bag his second title of the year and the third ATP tour title of his career. The tournament was played on clay back then.

Nadal won his third title in Mexico in 2020, when the surface was changed to the hardcourt. The 33-year-old was the top seed at the Mexican Open 2020, where he defeated seventh seed Dimitrov in the semifinals and edged out Taylor Fritz in the final to seal the title. It marked his first title of the year and the 85th of his career.

Meanwhile, Medvedev is eyeing to become the new World No. 1 if he wins the title in Mexico. However, he may once again face Nadal as the duo has been drafted in the same half of the draw. Nadal and Medvedev can come up against each other in the last four of the tournament.

The Australian Open 2022 finalist Medvedev can still bag the top-rank if Novak Djokovic doesn't reach the quarter-final at the Dubai Open. However, the Serbian's result won't matter if Medvedev does win the Mexican Open, according to ATP's official website.