Tennis fans stunned by Alex de Minaur detail amid brutal Aussie drama at Miami Open
De Minaur came crashing back down to earth after his stunning new high.
Alex de Minaur has come crashing back down to earth in the same week he claimed a stunning new high at the Miami Open. The Aussie tennis star clinched an ATP Tour-leading 19th win of the season in his previous match but was bundled out by Hungary's Fabian Marozsan in the round of 16 alongside compatriot Chris O'Connell, on a brutal day of drama for the Aussie players.
De Minaur failed to avenge fellow Aussie Alexei Popyrin's defeat to Marozsan, despite bagelling the Hungarian in the second set. A rollercoaster clash saw the Aussie eventually go down 6-4 0-6 6-1 in bizarre scenes in Miami, as de Minaur missed the chance to become the first player to reach 20 wins this season.
Maroszan had already delivered a shock by beating World No.7 Holger Rune 6-1 6-1 and de Minaur said before the match that the Hungarian was "definitely the favourite" after winning their previous clash. "I know exactly what to expect. He's a hell of a player, he's playing great and he's super dangerous," de Minaur said before the Miami showdown.
Alex de Minaur implosion stuns tennis fans
Despite those claims from the Aussie, de Minaur squandered a golden chance to reach the quarter-finals of the event after crushing Maroszan in a second set where he didn't allow the Hungarian to win a single game. The giant-killing Maroszan turned things around spectacularly in the deciding set to leave fans stunned as de Minaur only managed to win the solitary game.
Marozsan MASTERY 🙌
Fabian Marozsan continues his remarkable form with a 6-4 0-6 6-1 victory over Alex de MInaur at #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/hKjogIl9Bo— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 27, 2024
Really disappointing result for Alex De Minaur going down 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 to Hungary’s Fábián Marozsán in R4 of the #MiamiOpen.
Draw was left wide open to capitalise and it’s another missed opportunity at a Masters.— Christian Montegan (@monte_sports) March 27, 2024
Incredible!
Fabian Marozsan gets another top 10 win this week, beats #10 Alex De Minaur 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 to reach the QFs in Miami.
2nd ATP M1000 QF after Shanghai 2023.
When he is on... he is amazing. pic.twitter.com/NCE9Oow0GC— José Morgado (@josemorgado) March 27, 2024
I don’t remember seen a player lose a set after scoring a bagel in the precedent set, let alone the match.
Anyway, he’s doing great thing this season, keep working Demon.— Dr. Romnis 🩺 (@roseroms2110) March 27, 2024
Disappointing finish for Alex De Minaur. After staging an impressive 2nd set rally he has crashed out to Fabian Marozsan 64 06 61 in the Miami Open 4th round.
— Craig Gabriel (@crosscourt1) March 27, 2024
1 - With victories over Holger Rune and Alex de Minaur to reach the QF in Miami, Fabian Marozsan is now the first Hungarian to claim multiple ATP top 10 wins at a single event, since the ATP rankings were first published in 1973. History.#MiamiOpen | @MiamiOpen @atptour
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) March 27, 2024
What a game and recovery by Marozsan!
This US tour is gonna build a deep character out of him with all the experiences and tricks up his sleeves!
Sheer strategical mistakes by de Minaur, bring new to the table or move on!— Abhimanyu☀ (@techie_pop) March 27, 2024
Alex de Minaur and Chris O'Connell out in bad day for Aussies
Marozsan - who also beat Carlos Alcaraz in Rome and Casper Ruud in Shanghai last year - now faces a quarter-final showdown against Alexander Zverev after the World No.5 dispatched Karen Khachanov 6-1 6-4. De Minaur's defeat was compounded by O'Connell's loss to Jannik Sinner, meaning there are no more Aussies left in the singles draw in Miami.
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O'Connell was overwhelmed by the red-hot Australian Open champion despite jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the opening set. Sinner won four consecutive points to avoid going down by a double break and never looked back, steamrolling the Aussie 6-4 6-3 to set up a last-eight clash against Czech Tomas Machac, who beat Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-3 6-3.
Sinner recovered from his slow start against O'Connell to win five of the next six games to claim the opening set. O'Connell then dropped his serve in the first game of the second set and struggled to maintain his challenge as Sinner stepped up the pressure and showed more composure in the blustery conditions.
"Today was ... much more windy, so I had to adjust a little bit," Sinner said. "He started off really well, I made a couple of mistakes. When you are a break down especially in the beginning, it's always tough. I tried to serve really solid. He made a couple of mistakes in important moments (which) today was the key."
In other men's action, Daniil Medvedev remained on track for the first ATP title defence of his career after beating Germany's Dominik Koepfer 7-6 (7- 5) 6-0 for the 350th victory of his professional career. The Russian faces Chile's Nicolas Jarry - who beat seventh seed Casper Ruud of Norway 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.
Top-seeded Alcaraz advanced with ease after beating Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 6-3 in less than 90 minutes. "I don't know if this is the best game that I'm playing, but without a doubt it's the best feeling," Alcaraz said in reference to his recent ankle injury. I'm feeling great on the court. I'm moving great ... I'm not thinking about the ankle any more." Alcaraz faces No.11 seed Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals after the Bulgarian beat Hubert Hurkacz 3-6 6-3 7-6 (3).
with agencies
