RAFA HEAPS PRAISE ON YOUNG AUSSIE
SPANISH superstar Rafael Nadal has lavished praise on Australian tyro Alex de Minaur as they prepare for a prime time rematch of last year’s “emotional” ATP Cup cliffhanger.
Spain ended Australia’s 2020 ATP Cup challenge in the semi-finals with a clean sweep of the three rubbers, but de Minaur caught the 20times grand slam champion’s attention that night.
The 21-year-old shocked Nadal by winning the opening set – the first time he’d won one in their third meeting – before the former world No.1 prevailed 4-6 7-5 6-1.
He came out of that contest confident he was “going in the right direction” against Nadal, who doesn’t remember the clash fondly.
De Minaur is a dual Australian-Spanish citizen who bases himself in Alicante for much of the year.
They will play again on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday night, with that match-up of respective No.1s set to be a major factor in which country wins the tie and potentially advances from the group.
“(It was) an emotional match, not great for me, but an emotional one, yes,” Nadal said on Sunday.
“He’s young and improving every year – he has a lot of things (that are) amazing. I think it’ll be a tough battle for all of us playing against a great team like Australia.”
Spain boasts a starstudded team, with top-20 stars Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta the other singles options, while Marcel Granollers is likely to form a doubles pairing with Carreno Busta.
Bautista Agut leads Australia’s No.2 player John Millman 5-0 head-to-head, while Millman’s beaten Carreno Busta in one of their four matches.