Nadal Outclasses Australian Teenager De Minaur to Move Into Fourth Round

Nadal dropped just seven games in beating the Australian teenager.

MELBOURNE — Rafael Nadal has 19-year-old Australian Alex de Minaur's number - or numbers, really, and they are 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.

Nadal's victory over de Minaur in the third round of the Australian Open came by that score, as did the 17-major champion's win when the two met at Wimbledon last year.

De Minaur came into the Australian Open on a high having won the Sydney International last week but was outclassed by Nadal, who will play Tomas Berdych in the fourth round.

It was Nadal's third match in a row against an Australian, having beaten James Duckworth and Matthew Ebden in the first two rounds.

''Even playing against an Australian like Alex, I feel like the crowd - some part of the crowd - is with me,'' said Nadal, the 2009 Australian Open champion.