Paris: Australian singles star Alex de Minaur stunned the 2021 US Open winner and fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in a battle between two of the top competitors in the circuit at Stade Roland Garros here on Monday.
The 11th-seeded De Minaur upset Medvedev, an Australian Open finalist, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 in a hard-fought encounter on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. The Australian star was resolute in defence and clinical in dispatching any short balls sent down by his higher-ranked opponent in the two-hour, 49-minute win, which improved to 3-6 in the pair’s ATP head-to-head series.
The upset win also helped De Minaur become the first male Australian player to reach the singles quarterfinals at Roland Garros since former World No.1 Lleyton Hewitt in 2004.
The match, which started on a bright note with Medvedev breaking the serve of De Minaur in the third game of the match, ended with the former World No.1 gifting the Australian victory with a double fault. Medvedev was bidding to reach the quarterfinals in a fourth consecutive major and rode on that early break to win the first set.
But the match turned on its head midway through the second set.
De Minaur notched his first break of the match for 3-2 before Medvedev called a medical time-out at the changeover and received treatment for blisters on his right foot. While his movement did not appear to be hindered by the issue, his level dropped and De Minaur took control of the match by racing to the second and then third sets.
Medvedev immediately reclaimed an early break to level at 1-1 in the fourth set and the match seemed set for an intriguing climax, but De Minaur soon made another charge on return. He reeled off four games in a row from 2-3 to seal a victory in which he converted seven of 14 break points he earned, according to Infosys Stats.
Now into his second Grand Slam quarterfinal after he reached the same stage at the 2020 US Open, De Minaur will take on fourth seed Alexander Zverev or 13th seed Holger Rune next. The 25-year-old is now 29-10 for the season, a tally which includes winning his eighth ATP Tour title in Acapulco.
–IANS
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