Rafa Nadal starts the year with a loss to Alex de Minaur

After winning the first set and breaking in the first game of the second set, Nadal was stunned by the physical appearance and aggressiveness of his opponent’s blows. In the third, he reacted magnificently, but at the decisive moment an acceleration from De Minaur determined the accident.

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Both the 1-0 lead Australian team and the Spanish team have already been ruled out to make it to the final on Sydney’s ground, where one of the Final Four qualifiers will emerge, which is something Great Britain will do. beat both Spain 4-1 and Australia 3-2.

Despite the defeat, The meeting left a handful of positive notes for Nadal. The ability to react, especially when the game gets complicated. And what’s more, what he’s looking for in this competition: minutes on the track against tough opponents. It was De Minaur.

In the first set, Nadal immediately responded to the Australian’s hiatus and evened the match (3-3) without delay, making the entrance to the great eighth game in which De Miñaur appeared to make another ‘time out’ from his 40-0 score. . He scored his fourth game in a row with his serve and closed the arm with this win.

Good exchanges on the road, where the Spanish player has gone from keeping up with the local player’s pace to imposing his own pace with an increasingly damaging backhand.

De Minaur left the first serve of the second set, ahead of Nadal twice. There was nothing to suggest that the Spaniards would not add more play to that set.

The Australian hugged the track to save this service and signed the next gap. The party was lively. Almost twelve minutes later, he signed up for the fourth game, where he showcased his will, play, and legs, and signed another break (3-1) that put his arm on a tray. As he got older, Nadal didn’t give up, the challenge was brilliant, but the Australian was always on top.

Nadal wasted four break points He lost his serve in the second game and lost his serve in the fifth game, but with a new and strong reaction, he recovered his serve in the next game and raised his level one step further.

With 5-5 and serve, Nadal gave up three timeouts and lost his first with a very long forehand. De Miñaur’s serve was enough to close the match, and he did it in style. White.

On 31 December, when he returned to the official competition after months of absence, Nadal was undefeated against England’s Cameron Norrie (3-6, 6-3 and 6-4).

Nadal’s next commitment will be the Australian Open, which kicks off on January 16.