Rafa clash the perfect preparation for slam bid

ALEX de Minaur’s bid to reach the second week of the Australian Open for the first time will begin with a mouth-watering ATP Cup rematch against Spanish star Rafael Nadal.

De Minaur advanced to his maiden grand slam quarter-final at last year’s US Open, but hasn’t gone beyond the third round at any major outside of Flushing Meadows.

One of the world No.23’s goals is to regularly feature in the second week of slams, which equates to making at least the last 16.

De Minaur’s best result at Melbourne Park is the round-of-32 in 2019, but he missed last year’s tournament with an abdominal injury.

Australia will face Nadal’s Spain next Tuesday night, before a match-up against the Stefanos Tsitsipas-led Greece the following evening.

De Minaur pinched the first set off Nadal in the countries’ semi-final clash at last year’s inaugural event, only to lose to the 20-times grand slam champion for the third time in as many meetings.

However, the 21-year-old, who is fresh from winning the seasonopening Antalya title, feels he’s “going in the right direction” against Nadal.

“It’s very exciting. (Knowing) my first match in the Australian summer is going to be against one of the greats is pretty special, so I’m really looking forward to it,” de Minaur said.

“I had a great match against him last year, so hopefully I can bring a very high level again. That’s the plan.

“I knew going in there my matches were going to be brutal, but it’s a great test to see where I’m at. Hopefully I can go out there and play some of my best tennis.”

Only 12 countries are competing in this edition of the ATP Cup, and qualification is based on the ranking of their No.1 player.

Australia received a wildcard entry as the host nation. John Millman, who will play Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut, and doubles pair John Peers and Luke Saville round out the squad.

Serbia, Canada, Austria, Italy, Argentina, Russia, Germany, France and Japan join Australia, Spain and Greece in the tournament.

Australia’s hopes of repeating last year’s run to the final four could depend on de Minaur’s ability to dethrone Nadal. De Minaur managed to defeat Alex Zverev and Denis Shapovalov earlier in the event.

“He’s one of those guys that if you drop concentration just a tiny bit, he’s going to be all over you,” de Minaur said of playing Nadal.