United Cup: De Minaur stuns Rafael Nadal as Australia grab 1-0 lead against Spain

• Rafael Nadal suffers second defeat in United Cup mixed team tennis tournament.
• Spain’s World No. 2 loses 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 to Alex de Minaur of Australia.
• Alex De Minaur beats Spain’s Rafael Nadal 6-4 7-5 in his opening match.

Rafael Nadal lost twice on Monday in the United Cup mixed team tennis competition, adding to his season’s miserable start.

As the hosts grabbed a 1-0 lead in their Group D match against Australia, Nadal, who had earlier lost to Cameron Norrie in Spain’s first preliminary round match here, was defeated in three games by Alex de Minaur.

The 23-year-old fought back from a set and a break down to defeat Nadal 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 on Monday, turning in the most impressive performance of his career according to the ATP Ranking. The match lasted two hours and 44 minutes.

De Minaur stated, “I think it’s definitely up there [as one of my best wins]. “It’s one of those career-related accomplishments you’ve unlocked. Additionally, it’s a significant victory for me that I truly needed. I’m going to treasure and make the most of my confidence, and perhaps I can use it to have a nice Australian summer.

“Playing here is always an odd experience. It’s extremely great just to walk out there and hear the support I receive on that court. It is no secret that I like to play on this court in front of friends and family. I’ve already made a tonne of wonderful memories, and now I can add one more. De Minaur was reported as stating, “I’m super pumped,” in a story posted on the ATP Tour website.

De Minaur impressed his boisterous home fans by displaying an abundance of grit and quality in an exciting match. The World No. 24 ran around the baseline to stay in rallies and cut his groundstroke backswing short to outdistance Nadal and turn the tables. The 23-year-old tennis player advanced to 1-3 in his ATP head-to-head series versus Nadal with his statement victory.

De Minaur now has eight Top 10 victories in his career after also losing to Cameron Norrie of Great Britain in his season debut.

Last year, Nadal enjoyed success in Australia after taking home the ATP 250 title in Melbourne before capturing his second Australian Open championship. He is yet to secure his first victory of the new campaign, though.

At Ken Rosewall Arena, Nadal picked up the pace after a sluggish beginning. As he pushed De Minaur around the court with his powerful forehand and hit a number of winners to take the lead, he recovered from falling behind by a break in the first set.

The momentum swiftly changed, though, as De Minaur began to time the ball accurately to push Nadal back after the Spaniard had an early lead in the second set. In order to succeed off of Nadal’s serve and level, the Australian started to develop tremendous depth on returns and locked down from the baseline.

De Minaur found a way to win the match in the third set, taking the crucial break in the 11th game before maintaining his composure to win. After his victory, the 23-year-old exclaimed loudly before hugging Nadal at the net.

When Maddison Inglis plays Nuria Parrizas Diaz in the final match of the day in Sydney, she will try to double Australia’s lead in the Group D contest.

Australia and Spain both lost to Great Britain, preventing them from making it to the City Finals.

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