Australian teenager Alex de Minaur got a tennis lesson from superstar Rafael Nadal at Rod Laver Arena on Friday night. But he didn’t go down without a fight.

This was the biggest night of de Minaur’s tennis life. It was the third round of his home grand slam. Played in front of a packed Rod Laver Arena crowd. Against Rafael Nadal. But it quickly became a disaster.

At that point, the 17-time grand slam winner led the newly appointed golden boy of Australian tennis 6-1 4-1.

And while there is no shame in losing to Nadal, the world number 29 had hoped for a much better show.

The beauty about de Minaur is he never stops fighting – a quality all too rare in modern tennis.

Nadal ended up winning 6-1 6-2 6-4 but not before the 19-year-old saved five match points in a third set that showcased his obvious potential.

Alex de Minaur reacts after a point against Spain’s Rafael Nadal. Photo: Getty

De Minaur has form, saving six match points in a five-set epic against Marin Cilic at the US Open that he eventually lost, and he said that he was proud of his ability to keep fighting.

“Obviously I’m a little bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to perform a little bit better,” he told reporters on a Friday evening that also saw local hope Kimberly Birrell bundled out of the Open.

“But, you know, that’s just what ‘Rafa’ does to you … you’ve got to be able to go out there and perform … I felt like I wasn’t able to do that today.

“I fought till the end … I just have it in my head to fight til the end, fight [for] every point.”

Asked to comment on a tumultuous week for Australian tennis headlined by rifts and alleged threats, de Minaur played a typically straight racquet.

“There’s a lot of stuff that happens off court,” he said.

“But I think at the end of the day, what I really want is to be that boring guy that lets his tennis do the talking, you know?

“I want everyone to know that I’m that kid that’s going to leave it all out there, fight til the end, and just continuously want to improve.

“If I’m that boring guy in the media, then I’m doing something right.”

De Minaur, who was seeded 27th and is Australia’s top-ranked male, has seen his world ranking soar in the last 12 months and his effort to reach the third round matched his best performance at a grand slam.

Birrell no match for German star

She may have upset 29th seed Donna Vekic in the second round, but a clash against World No.2 Angelique Kerber was a bridge too far for Queensland’s Kimberly Birrell.

Ranked 240th in the world, Birrell was outclassed, Kerber winning 6-1 6-0 in just 58 minutes.

The Australian made 30 unforced errors compared to Kerber’s nine in a one-sided affair but the former was very upbeat in her post-match press conference.

“Each match you lose is tough,” she told reporters.

“You put everything into it when you walk out on the court – obviously I’m disappointed. But I’m just going to look at the positives from this whole week.

“It’s still so surreal [to have played on Rod Laver Arena] – these kind of opportunities happen once in a lifetime.

“I’m definitely going to be looking back at that moment for the rest of my life. It’s a dream come true.”

Barty progresses despite injury doubt

One Australian did win on day five, with Ashleigh Barty setting up a much anticipated fourth-round clash against Maria Sharapova that is destined for Sunday night prime time.

Barty beat Greece’s Maria Sakkari 7-5 6-1, hitting 13 aces en route to victory.

Barty has played down any injury concerns as she heads into a showdown with Maria Sharapova. Photo: Getty

The 15th seed now has the most aces of any women’s player (24) but did require treatment during the clash for a reported hip/abdominal injury.

Barty gave no clues about the problem, insisting afterwards that she was “all good” and it was “nothing to be concerned about”.

Around the courts

Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki was knocked out on Friday, beaten in three close sets by Sharapova in a terrific contest. The former World No.1 won 6-4 4-6 6-3.

Roger Federer’s defence of his Australian Open crown is going better, though, the Swiss maestro needing just 88 minutes to defeat Taylor Fritz 6-2 7-5 6-2.

The man Federer beat in last year’s decider, Marin Cilic, saved two match points in a five-set tussle against Fernando Verdasco.

In a 258-minute match that finished just before 1am (AEDT), Cilic edged the Spaniard 4-6 3-6 6-1 7-6 (10-8) 6-3 on Margaret Court Arena.

And 17-year-old American Amanda Anisimova produced perhaps the biggest upset of Friday’s action, thrashing 11th seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-3 6-2, to set up a clash with 8th seed, Petra Kvitova.