Rafael Nadal Beaten Again As Swiatek, Tsitsipas Cruise At United Cup

World number two Rafael Nadal suffered a second straight-time defeat at the United Cup on Monday.

There was also more misery for former world number two Alexander Zverev, who, like Nadal, suffered a second loss to start his season, this time at the hands of Taylor Fritz.

Spanish 22-time Grand Slam winner Nadal surprisingly crashed in his season-opening match on Saturday to 14th-ranked Cameron Norrie.

And he again succumbed after winning the first set, going down 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 to Australia’s 24th-ranked Alex De Minaur in Sydney, including losing six games in a row in the second set. “Honestly, I couldn’t be happier that I managed to get my first win over Rafa on this court, it’s no secret this is my favorite court in the world,” said De Minaur. “Rafa is a hell of a competitor and what he has been able to do for this sport is truly astounding so I’m just honoured.

“It’s a dream come true.”