Rafael Nadal and Alex de Minaur would have played each other for the 5th time in their careers on the ATP Tour on Wednesday in the second round match of the Barcelona Open 2024. On head-to-head, Nadal has enjoyed a 3-1 lead over the Australian. However, Alex de Minaur does have the advantage of winning their 4th encounter which was in 2023.
Rafael Nadal and Alex de Minaur first met in the 2018 Wimbledon Round of 32 match. Nadal comfortably won that match, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. He won with the same scoreline in their 2019 Australian Open clash and Nadal went up 2-0 up on head-to-head. In 2020, Nadal beat de Minaur in the ATP Cup semi-final, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5. Finally, in 2023, De Minaur won 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 in their United Cup Round Robin league match.
But Alex de Minaur has had a good run, especially in 2024. He won the Mexican Open 2024, beating Monte-Carlo Masters runner-up Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 in the final. Alex de Minaur also reached the Rotterdam Open final, where he lost to Jannik Sinner 5-7, 4-6. However, de Minaur has struggled to adapt to clay as one of his biggest wins till date is against Cam Norrie in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Barcelona Open. A 2-11 win-loss record is not a good reading for the Australian and his fans.
The Barcelona Open 2024 could arguably be Alex de Minaur’s best chance of defeating Rafael Nadal on clay. In 2019, Nadal sang huge praises of De Minaur in a post-match press conference, when he was just 20 and did not make it as big on the ATP Tour as he has now. Interestingly, De Minaur is half-Spanish, and hence, Nadal had a special liking for his talent. Alex de Minaur admitted that a match against Rafael Nadal would be his biggest match ever, after calling him ‘King of Spain’. This was right before their 2019 AO match, which Nadal won.
How will Rafael Nadal vs Alex de Minaur turn out in Barcelona?
Rafael Nadal has the most impeccable record in the Barcelona Open to date. He will pull every trick in his book to block Alex de Minaur’s road ahead in the tournament. Given that De Minaur’s record isn’t that great on clay, he might have this chip on his shoulder. However, given his latest form and reaching the peak of his career, De Minaur would like to get this monkey off of his back of underperforming on clay.
With De Minaur trying to prove his mettle on all kinds of surfaces and Nadal aiming to extend his comeback, this will be a great match-up between the two. The match will stream live on the Tennis Channel in the United States not before 8 AM ET on Wednesday.