Australian Open: Rafael Nadal disenchants local hero Alex de Minaur
The French Open record winner was no stranger to 6: 1, 6: 2, 6: 4 against the great Australian hope Alex de Minaur and is in the round of 16 after his 250th victory in a major event.
A tournament win in Melbourne could make Nadal the first player in the Open Era to win each of the four majors at least twice.
by Ulrike Weinrich from Melbourne
last edit: Jan 18, 2019, 11:44 am
After 2:22 hours, Nadal converted his sixth match ball in the night session and was celebrated as always. Even though he had just eliminated the third local hero in a row.
James Duckworth and Matthew Ebden now followed de Minaur. The 19-year-old with the boy's face, the Australian number one, the world ranked 29th, who traveled from Sydney to Melbourne with the recommendation of the tournament victory.
"Alex is probably the fastest player on the tour"; said "Rafa" and said: "I served well and played a solid game."
Against Nadal, the highly talented Teenie de Minaur, son of a car wash owner from Uruguay and a Spanish mother, was shown a bit of his limits.
The first three games lasted 23 minutes
Where de Minaur, nicknamed "Demon" (demon) and promoted by old master Lleyton Hewitt, power pack Nadal really stood up to the beginning of the first two sentences.
The Mallorcan could not use four breakballs in the second game - when the score was 2: 1, 23 minutes (!) Were played before the eyes of the great Rod Laver in the arena of the same name.
After he had de Minaur off the serve for the first time, "Rafa" pulled away to 5: 1 within a few minutes and got the opening round after 40 minutes with a serve winner.
The youngster did not put on: Although Nadal managed to break again, the world ranking number two had to go through a total of ten times. Among other things, his girlfriend Xisca Perello cheered in the box .
Even after that, the left-hander, who has won the "Happy Slam" on the Yarra River so far (2009), never left doubts about the clear division of roles on this Australian summer evening. In the days of Melbourne, Nadal is in great shape.
"Rafa" out and about in Melbourne as a prank cookie
Nothing is felt from the worries at the end of last season when he had to give up in the US Open semi-final against Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) because of a knee injury and later ended his tennis year prematurely. The 32-year-old also used the break for an ankle surgery.
And Nadal was even on the road as a prank cookie: at his first opening PK in Melbourne, he targeted the well-known Italian journalist Ubaldo Scanagatta, who briefly dozed off in the interview room.
"Good morning, Ubaldo," Nadal called to him and quipped, "I know you only closed your eyes to focus on what I'm saying."