De Minaur: “I’m very fortunate I didn’t play Rafa on clay earlier in his career”

The Australian beat Nadal 7-5, 6-1 in Barcelona and said he felt he had a physical advantage over Nadal, who was only playing his second event in 16 months

Imago / Panoramic

Simon Cambers

April 17, 2024

Alex de Minaur became the first Australian man ever to beat Rafael Nadal on clay when he won their second-round encounter at the Barcelona Open 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday.

The world No 11, who broke into the world’s top 10 earlier this year, had met Nadal four times before (losing three) but never on the surface on which Nadal has dominated men’s tennis for the best part of two decades.

Alex de Minaur moves past Nadal 7-5, 6-1 to reach the last 16 in Barcelona! ⏩

He awaits the winner of Altmaier/Fils.#BCNOpenBS pic.twitter.com/Mt1JlMItIz
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) April 17, 2024

The 37-year-old Spaniard was not at his best physically, lacking power on serve after abdominal problems that have bothered him over the past few months, and De Minaur took advantage to win.

But the Australian was humble enough to admit that he may have got lucky to meet Nadal now and not when he was in his absolute pomp, romping to 14 Grand Slam titles.

“I’m very fortunate that I didn’t play Rafa a couple of years earlier on the clay,” he said, in his on-court interview. “It would have been a very different match. It was an amazing experience.”

Physicality in De Minaur’s favour

It’s not often that Nadal’s physicality has been considered a weakness but with his 38th birthday just over a month away, recovering from hip surgery last year and abdominal issues in recent months has not been easy.

There were times in the match where he looked like the old Nadal but more often than not, it was De Minaur pressing the issue.

“Probably the only thing I had over Rafa on clay is maybe my physicality, at this stage of his career,” De Minaur said. “I decided to try to make the rallies long and to use my speed to my advantage….and make him move. But it wasn’t easy.”

De Minaur will play either Arthur Fils or Daniel Altmaier in the next round, while Nadal, who is entered into the back-to-back Masters 1000s in Madrid and Rome, will have to judge what’s the best thing to do as he tries to get as close to full speed as possible.