Highlights:
- 2nd-ranked Rafael Nadal faced 14th-ranked Cameron Norrie in the latter’s first match of the season on Saturday.
- Both Cameron Norrie and Katie Swan were victorious in their respective matches against Rafael Nadal and Nuria Parrizas-Diaz.
- In the United Cup group stage match between Great Britain and Spain, this gives Great Britain had a 2-0 lead.
Rafael Nadal, the second-ranked player in the world, suffered a blow in his efforts for the Australian Open on Monday after falling to a loss for the second consecutive time at the United Cup. On the other hand, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Iga Swiatek were both in fine form.
At the Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney, the 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over the 22-time Grand Slam champion was earned by Norrie after he rallied from a knockdown. The 27-year-old has never won a set against Nadal in their four previous encounters.
“He’d defeated me easily the previous several times, so it’s a nice way for me to close the year,” said Norrie. “It’s a terrific way to end the year for me.” “I was thinking I’d never won a set before against him and I came out first wanting to achieve that,” he said. “I was thinking I’d never won a set against him before.”
It became even worse for former world number two Alexander Zverev, who, like Nadal, started his season with a loss and then went on to lose again, this time to Taylor Fritz. Zverev’s defeat came at the hands of Fritz.
And while winning the first set, he ultimately lost 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 against the 24th-ranked player in Australia, Alex De Minaur, in Sydney. This included dropping six games in succession in the second session.
After getting off to a sluggish start, the Spaniard eventually rediscovered his rhythm and went on a tear to win the next three matches and claim the set.
De Minaur gave the impression of being defeated and was beaten again on his opening service of the second set; nevertheless, he flipped a switch to rifle off six consecutive games, leaving Nadal dumbfounded in the process.
In the third set, they went back and forth breaking each other’s service until De Minaur capitalised on a series of unforced mistakes made by Nadal to go up 6-5 and serve out the match for the victory.
There are a total of 18 nations represented in the mixed-team competition, which takes place in Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth. The champions of the two groups in each city will go on to compete in the city finale on Wednesday, and the top four teams will be determined by the victor of that matchup.
Due to the fact that Norrie’s Britain is already certain to win the competition in Sydney, neither Spain nor Australia can advance from Group D. After Fritz and Madison Keys won their match for their nation against Germany, they will now compete against the United States in the final of the city.
