Alex de Minaur got to see Rafael Nadal close-up earlier this year when he played him in back-to-back tournaments on clay. One win and one defeat was a healthy return for the Australian on Nadal’s favourite surface, even if the 22-time grand slam champion was only making his way back from injury at the time. But as he continues to plot his way through the draw at the US Open, it is Nadal’s philosophy that is helping De Minaur impose himself on his opponents.
It was back in 2012, when he was assessing Andy Murray’s defeat by Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, that Nadal gave an insight into the attitude that helped to make him such a formidable competitor. Murray had led Djokovic two sets to one, only to suffer a physical and mental dip in the fourth set. He recovered in the fifth but Djokovic held on to reach the final. Murray’s mistake was to let Djokovic get away just when he had the momentum himself.
