Australia’s young tennis star
Alex de Minaur has revealed
that legendary
Rafael Nadal was very close to his best during their most recent
meeting in the
Madrid Open. The 37-year-old is often regarded as one of the
greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era, having won as
many as 22 Grand Slam titles.
Nadal has recently returned to action after struggling with
injury concerns and is currently taking part in the Madrid Open where he registered
his place in the round of 32 after defeating De Minaur in straight sets with a
score of 7-6, 6-3. Talking after the match, the 25-year-old, who defeated Nadal
when the two met during the Barcelona Open, was recently quoted in a report
where he admitted that the former world number one was close to his best as
registered a thumping win.
"I think the level he gave today was quite high, things
as they are. I would have liked to play a little better, that's true, but this
is tennis. You try to give everything and there are days when you give the
level and days that don't," said De Minaur. "These are exactly the
things we expected. In Barcelona he was not prepared to play and it showed on
the court, today I saw him close to his level in the past. For me, today he was
at a very high level, at a very high intensity, from the first point to the end.”