Di Minaur Spoils Nadal’s Barcelona Comeback

Alex De Minaur put a convincing end to Rafael Nadal’s comeback this week with a 7-5, 6-1 in Barcelona on Wednesday.

Nadal played the Australian tough until late in the first when De Minaur pulled away and then didn’t continued to pour it on in the second set.

“I think about the only thing I might have on Rafa on clay is physicality at this stage of his career,” De Minaur told the ATP. “I decided to try and make the rallies quite physical and long, use my speed to my advantage. It’s never easy against him.”

Nadal was still hopeful even though this could have been his final match at the event he’s won 12 times.

“At least, how things went, for me I had the chance to say goodbye here on court,” said Nadal. “That means a lot to me, because I probably felt one week ago that I was not able to play in this event. That would have been painful, so at least I played, I enjoyed the game, and now is the moment to keep going.”

“Alex is a great player. In terms of tennis today, he was in better shape than me,” he added. “He has really played at a very high level since the beginning of the season. I think he has made a very important step forward in his level of tennis. I’m just happy for him and I congratulate him for the level he played today.

“I didn’t practice a lot, so that encourages me to keep going. It tells me that, if I’m able to spend days on the Tour and keep practicing with the players, I really hope and believe that I can keep being competitive. If my body allows me to push the way that I need.

“I feel much more comfortable and happier today than one week and a half ago,” he said. “I was able to manage to play two matches, played against a great player. I was not very far, without a doubt. I feel myself, if I am able to keep practicing days on the Tour, and my body allows me to spend hours on court and have practices the way that I need.

“I hope to be competitive. I hope and believe I can be competitive in a few weeks,” Nadal added. “That’s the way that I need to proceed today, and to give me a chance to be ready at least to compete at Roland Garros.”