Rafael Nadal THRASHES Alex De Minaur at Wimbledon to reach fourth round
RAFAEL NADAL moved into the fourth round of Wimbledon with the minimum of fuss as he beat Alex De Minaur 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 on Centre Court.
De Minaur was, as the majority of Nadal’s first week opponents often are, expected to roll over and after 34 minutes of the match, that seemed to be the case.
The Australian showed a trademark eagerness get forward and cut points off at the net but Nadal was quick to punish any approaches that were too short, especially on his forehand wing.
The pressure of saving four break points in only his second service game - there was a nervy double-fault in his first - told and the fifth saw Nadal break for the first time.
The Spaniard secured a double break soon after and took the first 6-1.
It took him a little longer to make progress in the second as the first 17 points of the set all went with serve, but as soon as the world No 1 got a sniff in the fifth game, he broke and compounded it with a love hold and a break of serve.
Alex De Minaur battled hard but was no match for the 17-time Grand Slam champion
The third set followed a similar pattern as Nadal put the squeeze on in the fifth game.
De Minaur responded with a thumping forehand and an almighty "come on" but it was all he could do as the Spaniard took the second break point, his fifth conversion of the match.
It was the last nail in the coffin and even De Minaur's mentor Lleyton Hewitt would have struggled to come back from it.
Instead, the former world No 1 could only nod ruefully from the players' box as Nadal, picking up a time violation in his final service game, put away his third match point to move into the second week.
Nadal said: “A positive match against a player with a lot of energy, some tough moments.
"I am just happy to be in the fourth round again. I'll go and watch some football - England, it's coming home or not?!"
