Rafael Nadal scores his second Fed Cup defeat

Rafael Nadal suffered his second successive defeat at the Mixed Nations Cup on Monday, losing to Australian Alex de Minaur, as concerns about the world number two rank at the start of the season mounted ahead of his Australian Open title defense.

The Spaniard showed flashes of brilliance during his opening loss against Briton Cameron Norrie, after returning to action after the injury-plagued 2022 season, and seemed ready to respond to De Minaur, but he fell again with the Australian victory 3-6 6 1 7-5.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion has won just one of his last seven matches on the ATP TourRound of 16 victory over Casper Roode in the ATP Finals.

Her other losses came to Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Ball and Frances Tiafoe.

Nadal will play his first major tournament of the season at Melbourne Park from January 16giving you time to polish your imperfections.

The absence of Spain and Australia in the next round of the opening $15 million prize pool dampened the excitement of their encounter, and it looked like de Minaur would still have to fight for his first win over Nadal while he trailed. Scoreboard.

But the 23-year-old rallied from a set and a breakdown to claim the biggest win of his career, as Nadal broke serve in the 11th game and De Minaur sealed the win to unleash dramatic scenes and delight the ardent Sydney crowd.

Nadal’s next commitment will be the Australian Open, starting January 16.

Before that, Taylor Fritz beat Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-4, while Madison Keys easily disposed Jules Niemeyer 6-2, 6-3.

The United States took a 2-0 lead over Germanyenough to face the Group D winners, United Kingdom in the next round.

The winners of each of the three groups of venues – Sydney, Perth and Brisbane – will compete in Wednesday’s ‘City Final’ to decide who advances to the semi-finals.

The fourth semi-final winner will be the runner-up with the best record in their three matches at the event.

Participants in the Final Four, something Great Britain will do, having already beaten both of them, are Spain 4-1 and Australia 3-2.