Melbourne: Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal defeated 19-year-old Alex de Minaur in the Australian Open to enter the pre-quarters round of men’s singles event here at the Rod Laver Arena on Friday.
The 32-year-old registered an impressive 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory over his Australian counterpart in the match that lasted more than two hours.
The 2009 champion and three-time runner-up, Nadal started down one break point in his opening service game, then moved his opponent around the court with powerful groundstrokes. Three break points came and went for De Minaur. However, Nadal, who was through two sets, proved too strong and dominated the encounter and wrapped up his victory over de Minaur.
“I know I have to play aggressively. I know I have to play with the right determination. But every day is a test. Maybe every day is tougher. I have to be ready for it,” Australian Open quoted Nadal, as saying.
The second seed Nadal will next challenge Tomas Berdych of CzechRepublic.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]