Just 24 hours after he had put veteran warrior Rafael Nadal to the sword, Alex de Minaur may have felt just a little old himself as he was shot down by a new tennis sensation at the Barcelona Open.
The Australia No.1 was swept aside 7-5 6-2 in his last-16 tie by the flamboyant teenager Arthur Fils, who is France's great new hope to break their 41-year grand slam-winning drought in the men's game.
It was also a chastening day on the red clay for Australia's No.2 Jordan Thompson at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona on Thursday as his bid to make the quarter-finals was ruthlessly ended by double French Open finalist Casper Ruud, who powered to 6-1 6-4 victory.
