Rafael Nadal and Alex De Minaur are going to clash in the 3rd round of the Australian Open. They are scheduled to play on Friday at the Rod Laver Arena at 7 pm.
Nadal
Seeded no.2, Rafa has impressed in the first 2 rounds after he dispatched 2 Australians in straight sets following his wins against James Duckworth (6-4 6-3 7-5) and Matthew Ebden (6-3 6-2 6-2). The big question mark for Rafa is if he can stay injury-free. If healthy, he will be difficult to stop.
De Minaur
Ranked no.29, reached the 3rd round after beating Pedro Sousa 6-4 7-5 6-4 and Henri Laaksonen 6-4 6-2 6-7 (7) 4-6 6-3.
The young Australian is in great form, and he won his first career title in Sydney last week without dropping a single set for the entire event.
H2H Rafael Nadal vs. Alex De Minaur
The head to head is 1-0 for Nadal that has defeated De Minaur 6-1 6-2 6-4 in the 3rd round of Wimbledon last year.
The Spaniard is the hot favorite to win the encounter, and he would be pleased to do that to save some energies and his body for the second week.
