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There's no such thing as a meaningless match for Alex de Minaur.

The Australian registered his first-ever win over 22-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal at the United Cup, downing the Spaniard 3-6 6-1 7-5.

While not on the biggest stage - the clash was part of a dead tie with Great Britain already progressing to the next round of the competition - it's still one of the best of the 23-year-old's career.

Until Monday night in Sydney, de Minaur had never beaten a player ranked No.1 or No.2 in the world - now he has beaten arguably the best of all-time.

"It's a big win for myself, one that I really needed. I'm gonna cherish and use, take all the confidence from this and be able to hopefully take it to have a good Aussie summer," de Minaur said.

World No.2 Nadal started inauspiciously, going down an early break, only to reel off four straight games to snatch the first set.

That momentum continued with another break to start the second set, only for the Sydney local to produce some of his own trademark grit and storm through the next six games.

The decider was a mixed bag - de Minaur's foot speed and ability to rip out winners from defensive positions against the brute force and experience of Nadal.

The pair traded breaks midway through the set before an error-strewn 11th game from Nadal saw de Minaur serve for the match.

There'd be no more drama as the Australian served it out to love to claim the win.

"I did basically what I've always wanted to do, serve cannons and not have to play too many long points when you serve it out," de Minaur said.

"I was very happy with myself there.

After a patchy back half of 2022 and a surprise loss to Great Britain's Cameron Norrie in Spain's opening tie, there have been questions being raised about Nadal's form and motivation as he heads into the twilight of his career.

Since pulling out of the Wimbledon semi-final of 2022 against Nick Kyrgios he has had four wins on tour from 11 starts.

"I need hours on court; I need battles like this," the Melbourne Park defending champion said.

"I have two weeks before the Australian Open starts. I can't say that the situation is ideal, but at the same time, I can't say that it's very negative, because for moments, I was playing good.

"I think that two matches is gonna help me. I need to win a couple of matches."

De Minaur finishes the tournament with a 1-1 singles record after also falling to Norrie.

In the second match of the night, Nuria Parrizas Dias was too good for Maddison Inglis, her 6-1 6-3 win locking up the tie at a rubber apiece.

© AAP 2023

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI 's body, his head resting on a pair of crimson pillows, lay in state in St. Peter's Basilica as thousands of people filed by to pay tribute to the pontiff who shocked the world by retiring a decade ago.

As daylight broke on Monday 10 white-gloved Papal Gentlemen, lay assistants to pontiffs and papal households, carried the body on a cloth-covered wooden stretcher up the centre aisle of the mammoth basilica to its resting place in front of the main altar under Bernini's towering bronze canopy.

A Swiss Guard saluted as the body was brought in via a side door after Benedict's remains, placed in a van, had been transferred from the chapel of the monastery grounds where the increasingly frail, 95-year-old former pontiff passed away on Saturday morning.

His longtime secretary Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, and a handful of consecrated laywomen who served in Benedict's household, followed the van by foot in a silent procession toward the basilica.

Just after 9am, the doors of the basilica were swung open so the public, some who had waited for hours in the dampness before dawn, could pay their respects to the late pontiff, who retired from the papacy in 2013 to become the first pope to do so in 600 years.

Faithful and curious, the public strode briskly up the centre aisle to pass by the bier after waiting in a line that by midmorning snaked around St. Peter's Square.

Filippo Tuccio, 35, came from Venice on an overnight train to view Benedict's body.

"I wanted to pay homage to Benedict because he had a key role in my life and my education. I arrived here at around 7:30, after leaving Venice last night," Tuccio said.

"When I was young I participated in World Youth Days," said the pilgrim, referring to the jamborees of young faithful held periodically and attended by pontiffs. Tuccio added that he had studied theology, and "his pontificate accompanied me during my university years".

"He was very important for me: for what I am, my way of thinking, my values. This is why I wanted to say goodbye today."

Public viewing lasts for 10 hours on Monday in St. Peter's Basilica. Twelve hours of viewing are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday before Thursday morning's funeral, which will be led by Pope Francis, at St. Peter's Square.

Security officials expected at least 25,000 people to pass by the body on the first day of viewing.

Marina Ferrante, 62, was among them. The Roman arrived an hour before the doors were opened, and she grew emotional when she explained why she came.

"I think his main legacy was teaching us how to be free," she said. "He had a special intelligence in saying what was essential in his faith and that was contagious" for other faithful. "The thing I thought when he died was that I would like to be as free as he was."

While venturing that the shy, bookworm German churchman and theologian and the current Argentine-born pontiff had different temperaments, "I believe there's a continuity between him and Pope Francis and whoever understands the real relationship between them and Christ can see that," Ferrante said.

© DPA 2023

Health Minister Mark Butler says Australia welcomes renewed travel with China despite slapping new entry requirements on people arriving from the mainland.

Travellers will have to return a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of departure from Thursday as cases spike after Beijing dismantled restrictions.

Mr Butler said he welcomed China opening its borders and allowing citizens to travel once again, with a spike in travellers expected in Australia.

He said it was "a very modest, balanced decision".

"I know that hundreds of thousands of Australians of Chinese descent, in particular, are particularly looking forward to the opportunity to reunite with family and friends," he told Seven's Sunrise program.

"So this is a very positive development, but we need to ensure that we have the information we need to protect the health of Australians."

UK-based health data firm Airfinity estimates China's COVID deaths will peak towards the end of January at 25,000 a day and daily cases will peak at 3.7 million in the next fortnight.

The World Health Organisation has expressed concern about the transparency of data coming from Beijing, making it harder to get an accurate handle on case numbers and deaths.

Mr Butler said while there was no evidence of new variants emerging from China, the decision was taken out of an abundance of caution and to gather more data.

"There's no imminent public health threat and we're very well positioned right now in the fight against COVID here in Australia," he told ABC radio.

The health minister said the main driver of China's COVID spike was an Omicron variant that's been circulating in Australia for several months.

But he said Australia needed to be able to quickly identify the emergence of new variants through measures including wastewater testing from planes.

The Business Council of Australia has warned against a "retreat" on freedoms and the move to living with the virus.

Mr Butler said he didn't agree with the assertion.

"I'm very confident that is not going to be a deal breaker for people," he said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he understood the concerns of business leaders and is continuing to assess the economic impacts.

"Business leaders want us to strike the best balance between managing the health aspects of COVID-19 and making sure we can keep the wheels of the economy turning," he said.

Dr Chalmers anticipates strains on supply chains from the current outbreak in China adding to economic pressures already expected in 2023.

"When the Chinese market and Chinese suppliers are such a substantial part of our own economy, people - not just business leaders, but economists and others - have their concerns about the impact of this COVID wave in China on our economy.

"I share those concerns."

The US, UK, France, India, Japan, Malaysia, Spain and South Korea have all imposed similar testing measures.

China's foreign ministry has criticised the move despite also requiring a negative test to enter the mainland.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin has said "authoritative medical experts from different countries have said that entry restrictions on travellers arriving from China are unnecessary".

Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said it was a sensible measure that didn't prevent Chinese students coming to start or continue their studies.

© AAP 2023