'Absolute demon': De Minaur display sends fans wild
Alex de Minaur has sent tennis fans into a frenzy after a dramatic five set win in the second round of the Australian Open.
The young Aussie looked in control of the match against Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen after taking a commanding two set lead.
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However, the 27th seed’s less fancied opponent dug into the Aussie’s playbook by launching a stunning fightback and taking the next two sets.
The deciding set went on serve until the eighth game when De Minaur brought the Melbourne Park crowd to their feet with a crucial break of serve.
De Minaur then held his next service game to seal the 6-4 6-2 6-7 4-6 6-3 win and a place in the third round.
Talent is a term often associated w/visual elegance — Federer's technique — but as I watch de Minaur grind his way through the tennis, I recall a comment @BillieJeanKing told me years ago that I love: persistence is a talent. @Tennis @TennisChannel
— joeldrucker (@joeldrucker) January 16, 2019
Alex De Minaur Great fighting spirit over five sets #AustralianOpen2019 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
— daisie (@Ladymondgreen1) January 16, 2019
In terms of the occasion and the scoreline, that's one of the biggest wins of Alex de Minaur's career.
To hang on and pull through in five sets, having had match point in the third, shows a staying power that not all of the #NextGen possess.
6-4 6-2 6-7(7) 4-6 6-3. #AusOpen
— Abigail Johnson (@abigailtennis) January 16, 2019
The roar for the DEMON in De Minaur @alexdeminaur @AustralianOpen 🎾⭐️
— Michael Jones (@jonesym88) January 16, 2019
Alex De Minaur! You Star! #AusOpen
— Sean O'Kane (@seanjokane) January 16, 2019
Woohoo!!
I'm in awe De Minaur
🎾🇦🇺#ausopen— Dr Ness (@Doctor_Ness) January 16, 2019
Now we get the dream De Minaur-Nadal R3 match we deserve 😍 that could be a cracker
— Pierre 🎐 (@Tamayuras) January 16, 2019
De Minaur… the demon … you little fighter!!! Thanks from Australia 🇦🇺… we have a true tennis player to inspire us all! 🙌👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
— GoPower27 (@GoPower27) January 16, 2019
Alex De Minaur is an absolute demon on the court and thoroughly deserves the nickname. Should be a ripper vs Nadal!
— Gabe (@WoomyGabe) January 16, 2019
“That was definitely pretty special,” de Minaur said of the round-two win that has set up a showdown with 17-time major winner Rafael Nadal.
“The support was amazing as always, you guys got me through that.”
It could have been a quicker night for de Minaur, who had a match point in the third set tiebreak but couldn’t convert in a 28-shot rally.
Laaksonen seized momentum into the fourth set against a flatlining de Minaur, who appeared to be feeling the effects of a gruelling title win in lead-up tournament Sydney.
In a match that twisted and turned, De Minaur broke early in the fifth set to go ahead 2-0 but Laaksonen hit back to level at 2-all.
But the Aussie 27th seed secured the crucial break in the eight game before holding his nerve to serve out the match.
“I mentally reset for the last set and tried not to get down myself and be positive and fight every ball,” de Minaur said.
Nadal's brilliance was in full show tonight. 🙌
WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/9yBwzk2qyQ
FOLLOW LIVE: https://t.co/d5QpFbIguD #9WWOS #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/paAFs126RN— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) January 16, 2019
His reward for the round-two win in three hours and 52 minutes is another grand slam showdown against Nadal, who beat the teenager in the third round at Wimbledon last year.
Nadal breezed past de Minaur’s countryman Matt Ebden 6-3 6-2 6-2 earlier on Wednesday.
“It’s going to be incredible, just to step out there on court with him,” de Minaur said.
“I can’t wait to go out there.”
