Alex de Minaur has crushed Jordan Thompson’s US Open dreams after putting paid to a comeback with a 6-0 3-6 6-3 7-5 victory in their all-Australian fourth-round clash.
De Minaur, the 10th seed, stormed out of the blocks to win the opening set without dropping a game but his 32nd-ranked countryman quickly got back on track in what became a tight tussle.
A dramatic fourth set featured four breaks of serve, with both players failing to consolidate — Thompson first after going up 3-1 and de Minaur at 4-3.
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As if the topsy-turvy set wasn’t thrilling enough, Thompson then recovered from 0-40 down in the ninth game to put the pressure right back on de Minaur.
But Thompson’s errors mounted, broken again in his next service game when his volley went long.
Knowing he had escaped having to fight through a tiebreak — or a fifth set — de Minaur grabbed his first chance to serve out the match with both hands.
“I’ve got so much respect for Thommo. We’ve grown up together,” de Minaur said.
“He’s been like a big brother to me, I really appreciate everything he’s done for me. He’s a hell of a competitor, my Davis Cup teammate. I can’t wait to share the court many, many times with him.”
Indeed, the pair will be on the same team next week when the Davis Cup group stage takes place in Spain.
Until then rest is on the cards for Thompson but he also deserves to toast his second ever run to the fourth round of a grand slam.
The 30-year-old will rise to a new career-high 29th in the world rankings.
De Minaur, meanwhile, moves on to face British star Jack Draper in the quarter-finals with the winner moving on to a semi-final against resurgent veteran Grigor Dimitrov or American home hope Frances Tiafoe.
More to come…