Alex de Minaur has become the first Australian to defeat Rafael Nadal on clay with a straight sets win in the second-round at the Barcelona Open.
The Spanish legend - a 12-time champion at Barcelona - was defeated by the Aussie 7-5 6-1 in one hour, 52 minutes as they prepare for next month's French Open.
De Minaur will now play talented 16th-seed Frenchman Arthur Fils in the round-of-16.
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De Minaur dethrones the king of Barcelona
Nadal first won the Barcelona Open in 2005 and most recently in 2021, but the 37-year-old has struggled with injuries over the past couple of years.
Since losing at Australian Open 2023 to Mackenzie McDonald, Nadal has only played at one tournament because of injury - Brisbane International 2024 - where he eventually bowed out to Jordan Thompson in the quarter-final.
Nadal's return from chronic fitness issues to Barcelona started solidly, with a 6-2 6-3 win over Italy's Flavio Cobolli in the first round on Wednesday.
But a match against in-form fourth seed De Minaur proved too much for Nadal, despite the ageing champion hanging in for the first set.
Nadal was broken in the first game of the match but managed to strike back on De Minaur's serve in the sixth game to level at 3-3.
De Minaur managed to save a break point on his serve at 4-3 down before breaking Nadal in the 11th game and serving it out 7-5.
The second set saw Nadal's resistance fail as the Australian streaked to a comfortable win.
After both players held serve to start the set, De Minaur won five consecutive games to claim victory and dent Nadal's hopes of achieving success in tennis once again.
De Minaur's last-16 opponent Fils - a player he has never played before - needed three sets to beat Germany's Daniel Altmaier in the second round.
Alex de Minaur past singles results, next match
| Date | Opponent/Result | Tournament/Round |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 29, 2023 | def. 6-4 2-6 7-6(2) by Cameron Norrie | United Cup (group stage) |
| Jan. 1, 2024 | def. Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-2 | United Cup (group stage) |
| Jan. 3, 2024 | def. Novak Djokovic 6-4 6-4 | United Cup (QF) |
| Jan. 6, 2024 | def. Alexander Zverev 5-7 6-3 6-4 | United Cup (SF) |
| Jan. 10, 2024 | def. Carlos Alcaraz 6-4 5-7 10-3 | Charity Match |
| Jan. 15, 2024 | def. Milos Raonic 6-7(6) 6-3 2-0 | Aus. Open (R1) |
| Jan. 17, 2024 | def. Matteo Arnaldi 6-3 6-0 6-3 | Aus. Open (R2) |
| Jan. 19, 2024 | def. Flavio Cobolli 6-3 6-3 6-1 | Aus. Open (R3) |
| Jan. 21, 2024 | def. by Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-7(5) 6-7(4) 6-3 6-0 | Aus. Open (R4) |
| Feb. 13, 2024 | def. Sebastian Korda 6-4 6-3 | Rotterdam (R1) |
| Feb. 15, 2024 | def. David Goffin 6-3 6-1 | Rotterdam (R2) |
| Feb. 17, 2024 | def. Andrey Rublev 7-6(5) 4-6 6-3 | Rotterdam (QF) |
| Feb. 18, 2024 | def. Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-3 | Rotterdam (SF) |
| Feb. 19, 2024 | def. by Jannik Sinner 7-5 6-4 | Rotterdam (F) |
| Feb. 22, 2024 | def. by Alex Michelsen 6-4 6-1 | Los Cabos (R1) |
| Feb. 26, 2024 | def. Taro Daniel 6-2 6-1 | Mexican Open (R1) |
| Feb. 29, 2024 | def. Sebastian Ofner 6-1 6-3 | Mexican Open (R2) |
| Mar. 1, 2024 | def. Stefanos Tsitsipas 1-6 6-3 6-3 | Mexican Open (QF) |
| Mar. 2, 2024 | def. Jack Draper 6-3 2-6 4-0 ret. | Mexican Open (SF) |
| Mar. 3, 2024 | def. Casper Ruud 6-4 6-4 | Mexican Open (F) |
| Mar. 9, 2024 | def. Taro Daniel 6-1 6-2 | Indian Wells (R2) |
| Mar. 11, 2024 | def. Alexander Bublik 7-5 6-0 | Indian Wells (R3) |
| Mar. 13, 2024 | def. by Alexander Zverev 5-7 6-2 6-3 | Indian Wells (R4) |
| Mar. 24, 2024 | def. Kwon Soon-woo 6-3 6-2 | Miami Open (R2) |
| Mar. 26, 2024 | def. Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 6-4 | Miami Open (R3) |
| Mar. 27, 2024 | def. by Fábián Marozsán 4-6 6-0 1-6 | Miami Open (R4) |
| Apr. 8, 2024 | def. Stan Wawrinka 6-3 6-0 | Monte Carlo (R1) |
| Apr. 9, 2024 | def. Tallon Griekspoor 2-6 6-2 6-3 | Monte Carlo (R2) |
| Apr. 11, 2024 | def. Alexei Popyrin 6-3 6-4 | Monte Carlo (R3) |
| Apr. 13, 2024 | def. by Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-4 | Monte Carlo (QF) |
| Apr. 18, 2024 | def. Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-1 | Barcelona Open (R2) |
| Apr. 19, 2024 | vs. Arthur Fils | Barcelona Open (R3) |