Alex de Minaur has pulled off the biggest win of his career, knocking over Rafael Nadal to hand the world No.2 his fifth loss in his past six matches.
No Nick Kyrgios, no worries.
Both players were coming off opening round losses to in-form Brit Cameron Norrie, but it was Nadal under the spotlight given his age and question marks over whether his incredible longevity could continue for another year.De Minaur, who came into the contest with a 0-3 record against Nadal in his career, had only previously taken one set off the reigning Australian Open champion.
However, in typical Nadal fashion, with his back against the wall, the Spaniard stepped his performance up a notch in the ensuing game, breaking back and finding his groove. But just as it looked Nadal would up the ante and shut out his opponent, de Minaur went on an inspired run to break the Spaniard three times in the second set to claim a 6-1 win.The third set began with a nine-minute game in which De Minaur survived five break points to hold. At 5-5 in the set, de Minaur managed to break Nadal and then didn’t drop a point to serve out the match, doing so in style with an ace.
After defeating the Czech Republic 4-1 in their opening tie, the Americans only needed two points from Germany to ensure top spot in their group. They will complete their tie against Germany today before facing fellow group winners Great Britain for a place in the final four, also to be played in Sydney from Friday.
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