“Alex de Minaur Unleashes Nadal’s Secret Weapon to Dominate at the US Open!”

Earlier this year, Alex de Minaur had the opportunity to face Rafael Nadal in consecutive clay tournaments. Splitting the results with one win and one loss was a strong performance for the Australian, especially against the 22-time Grand Slam champion on his preferred surface, even though Nadal was returning from injury. As De Minaur advances in the US Open draw, he draws inspiration from Nadal’s competitive philosophy to strengthen his game.

Nadal provided a glimpse into his mindset back in 2012, while analyzing Andy Murray’s loss to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals. Despite leading two sets to one, Murray experienced a physical and mental decline in the fourth set, which Djokovic capitalized on to ultimately win the match. Nadal commented on the importance of maintaining intensity, especially when leading against a tough opponent like Djokovic: “Winning two sets to one… winning with 7‑6, to win a tournament like this and to play against a player like Djokovic, you cannot start the fourth set like this,” Nadal remarked. “It’s the moment to play with more intensity than ever, not start with 3‑0 down and two breaks in five minutes. That way you lose the match. You want to win the tournament, you cannot start – you can lose, the other can beat you – but you cannot lose in the beginning. When the other has more doubts, is in real trouble, you [can’t] make it easier than what should be, no?”

De Minaur embodies a similar approach. Unlike players like Pete Sampras or Boris Becker, who would often conserve energy until the critical moments of a set, De Minaur battles for every point and chases every shot, no matter how unlikely it is to be returned. He believes he can outlast his opponents physically, which also gives him a psychological edge. This strategy was evident in his third-round victory over Dan Evans, where De Minaur’s relentless play contributed to Evans experiencing a hip issue at the start of the third set.

“I knew going in, and it didn’t matter whatever the score, I was going to make him play until the end,” De Minaur said after the match. “I was going to fight until the end. I knew he obviously had a lot of hours in his legs. And, realistically, I backed myself in a physical battle. I knew from the get-go, [it] doesn’t matter what happened throughout the match, whether I was winning or losing, I knew I was going to stay positive. I was going to extend rallies, I was going to move him around the court and if he wanted to beat me today, he was going to have to go through me, and it was always going to be visible.”

With Carlos Alcaraz out of the tournament, De Minaur is now the highest-ranked player left in his section of the draw and is a strong favorite against fellow Australian Jordan Thompson in their upcoming match. With potential opponents like Jack Draper or Tomas Machac next, a semi-final berth seems within reach for De Minaur—a prospect he wouldn’t have predicted at the start of the tournament, especially after withdrawing from Wimbledon due to a hip injury. His fitness, which he previously rated at 80-85%, is now nearing full recovery.

For the first time since 1988, three Australian men reached the last 16 at the US Open, although Alexei Popyrin was eliminated by Frances Tiafoe. The match between De Minaur and Thompson marks the first all-Australian fourth-round clash at the US Open since Wally Masur faced Jamie Morgan in 1993. Thompson, who is in his second fourth round of a Grand Slam, proved he can compete with top players by defeating Hubert Hurkacz earlier in the tournament. Despite their close relationship—De Minaur views Thompson almost like an older brother—he knows not to underestimate his opponent.

“I think Tommy deserves a lot of respect as a player, not only because he’s in the fourth round, which he’s earned by beating quality opponents, but just the way he’s been going about the last couple of years—career highs, playing positive, aggressive tennis against the best players in the world and taking a lot of big scalps,” De Minaur said. “It’s great that Aussie tennis, we’re showing what we can do. We’re putting ourselves in the deep end of tournaments. And look, it’s a good problem to have the fact that we’re playing each other in the fourth round. It’s exciting. Obviously, I’ve grown up with him. We have played many times and I’m expecting an absolute battle.”