Rafael Nadal has promised the rising stars on the ATP Tour that their time will come, even as he, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic continue to dominate.

Nadal, Federer and Djokovic - three of the sport's all-time greats - have monopolised the grand slam titles for more than a decade, accounting for every major honour in the last two seasons.

And all three look well placed to compete again at the Australian Open, where Nadal saw off home hopeful Alex de Minaur in straight sets in the third round on Friday.

But De Minaur, 19, is seen as a potential contender of the future and, although he was completely outclassed at Rod Laver Arena, his opponent believes the Tour's young talents will be rewarded for their patience.

"We just love this sport and we want to keep playing. There will be a day where that will not happen," Nadal told a news conference. "The next generation is coming hard.

"[On Saturday] there is another battle between [19-year-old Denis] Shapovalov and Novak. That will be an interesting match to see, too.

"These kind of matches are interesting for the media and interesting for the players, where there are lot of years between one and others. It makes the sport interesting, too.

"I think the players are young enough to not be frustrated at all. They have plenty of time."

De Minaur was the third Australian beaten by Nadal so far this week in Melbourne - also James Duckworth and Matthew Ebden - but the Spaniard is still "feeling the love" from the home crowd.

"My popularity going down? I don't think so, no, no," he said. "My feeling is people here understand the sport. People here love the sport.

"I really enjoy the atmosphere here. People go to see the sport in a good way. They respect the opponents. I think Australians don't see me like an opponent. I have always been a friend in Australia.

"I love being out here. I think the fans appreciate that I feel close to them. I feel a good connection with all the people there. When I'm on court, I feel the love of all of them."