Rafael Nadal hailed Alex de Minaur as “one of the best in the world” but still showed the teenager the Australian Open door 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in the third round on Friday. The relentless Spanish 17-time Grand Slam champion dragged the 19-year-old Australian 27th seed over every inch of Rod Laver Arena as he romped to victory in 2hr 22min. The Spaniard limped out of last year’s Australian Open at the quarter-final stage, cut short his 2018 season to have surgery on a foot injury and pulled out of his Brisbane warm-up with a thigh niggle.
The German Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber, swept world number 240 Birrell aside in just 58 minutes to set up a last 16 clash with unseeded American Danielle Collins. Kerber, a winner at Melbourne Park in 2016, said she was used to celebrating her birthday on the road at the season-opening Grand Slam. “I think it’s the 12th time in a row,” she said. “I’m getting older but I have the best time here and I’ll never forget my birthdays here in Australia.”
Last year’s finalist Marin Cilic survived a huge scare in the Australian Open third round on Friday, surviving two match points before beating Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10/8), 6-3. The big-serving Croatian sixth seed was in danger of departing when he lost the first two sets against the 35-year-old Spaniard. He ripped back 6-1 in the third and saved a first match point on his own serve during an edge-of-the-seat fourth set tiebreaker as the clock struck midnight. 
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