A rematch of an incredible semi-final encounter at the 2020 ATP Cup between Rafael Nadal and Alex de Minaur is back here in the group stages of the 2021 ATP Cup! Will de Minaur be able to actually hold on to a lead against Rafa this time, or will Nadal destroy the young Australian here?
Rafael Nadal will definitely remember the incredibly tight encounter between him and his opponent here, but I strongly believe Rafael Nadal will be much better prepared this time round. Nadal was injured last year, and was not playing his best tennis, which allowed players to keep tight scorelines and even cause upsets at the 2020 ATP Cup, losing to David Goffin, being in an extremely tight two set match against Yoshihito Nishioka, and winning in 3 sets against de Minaur. However, this year, Nadal is at the top of his game both physically and mentally, and he will definitely want to gain as much momentum as he can before the start of the Australian Open as he wants to reach his record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title.
Alex de Minaur had his chance and he blew it last year against Rafael Nadal, as he was absolutely dominating the Spaniard as he won the first set 6-4, and was keeping the match extremely close in the second set. Nadal was able to keep the match so close, and saved many break points, which eventually wore down de Minaur’s confidence, and one bad game later, de Minaur lost the set 7-5. That was de Minaur’s chance against Nadal, and he was incredibly unlucky. Will de Minaur be able to carry the momentum he built already this year winning his first title of the year in Antalya, by carrying Team Australia to a shock win over Nadal?
This is going to be the 4th meeting between both players, with Rafael Nadal leading the head to head 3-0. Nadal has played de Minaur once every year for the past 3 years, and absolutely dominated all encouters until last year. I think last year was a blip at the beginning of the season for Rafa, as he was battling with physical issues. This year, Nadal has prepared himself to be in top physical shape and he will not let the match be as close as last year. I think Nadal wins this again this year.