Saturday, January 18, 2025

Determined Alex de Minaur battles to book his place in the fourth round of the Australian Open with gutsy comeback vs Francisco Cerundolo

  • Alex de Minaur survived a first set defeat to beat Francisco Cerundolo 
  • The Australian was tested by the Argentinian, who played some fantastic shots
  • De Minaur admitted that his ‘legs were back’ reflecting on his recent injury woes  

Australia’s hopes of a local talent winning the Australian Open men’s singles for the first time in 49 years were kept alive on Saturday afternoon by a very resilient performance from Alex de Minaur.

It was not all plain sailing for the Sydneysider, who sealed a 7-5 6-7 (7-3) 3-6 3-6 comeback victory against world No 31 Francisco Cerundolo in blistering heat at the Rod Laver Arena on Saturday. 

It was, perhaps, his toughest test so far this week after he had claimed straight-set victories over Botic van de Zandschuilp and Tristan Boyer, with De Minaur being forced to fight back after going a set down.

‘Something you can always count on is that even if I don’t play my best I’m going to play to the end,’ the Australian said to huge applause from the home fans inside the Rod Laver Arena.

De Minaur has been praised this week for showing how cool and composed he can be on the court, with there being plenty of expectations on the World No 8 as Australia’s big hope. Today he cut a much more animated figure today. In front of his new fiancee Katie Boulter, he roared as Cerundolo double-faulted to concede a match point and fist bumped towards the corner of the crowd in which his beau and coaching staff were sitting.

It was an outstanding comeback from the Australian, who, reflecting on his injury layoff last year, said: ‘The legs are back!’

Alex de Minaur showed his resilience to come back and beat Francisco Cerundolo on Saturday

Katie Boulter watched on from the stands nervously as her beau went down by a set

Cerundolo asked questions of De Minaur, using his fantastic tennis intelligence to move the Aussie around the court

‘My never say die attitude. It got me the break in the last point I got the crowd on my side. I’m going to have bruises on my quads but it was worth it.

‘It was tough last year with the injury. Coming back on the court and competing and not being myself.

‘It’s been a long six months but jeez it feels good.’

De Minaur will now progress to the fourth round of the tournament and face off against American star Alex Michelsen but he will want to improve on his first set performance today after he made 28 unforced errors. For context, he made 15 in the whole of his second-round clash against Tristan Boyer earlier this week.

Frustrations even boiled over at one point in the set where he appeared to hit a ball long beyond Cerundolo’s baseline. The Argentinian still returned the ball after it had gone out with De Minaur attempting to kick the ball into the air, but missed the ball.

He was also seen roaring at his coach’s box, looking for answers after going down in the opening set. 

This contest was a real tussle of wills, something that the Aussie had been expecting coming into the matchup.

‘It’s going to be a battle,’ he said during his press conference earlier in the week.

De Minaur hit back in the second set, winning a tiebreak before going on to seal a 7-5 6-7 (7-3) 3-6 3-6

Cerundolo troubled De Minaur by playing some fantastic drop shots over the net, which forced the Australian forwards off his baseline

‘I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a really tough one.

‘I’ve got to be up for it from the very first point, bring that intensity, play some aggressive tennis, bring out a better version of myself, which I think I’m doing every day.’

But it did take De Minaur some time to warm up, even with the home fans chanting his name at every chance.

Cerundolo picked his shots very well. While De Minaur is regularly hailed as the ‘fastest man in tennis’ the Aussie struggled to meet the speed of Cerundolo’s sweeping forehand, which moved him from tramline to tramline throughout the match. He also troubled De Minaur with some stunning drop shots over the net and saved two match points in the fourth set by bringing the Australian forward from the baseline.

In the second set, the Australian responded and was lifted by the home fans inside the Rod Laver Arena. He came out of the blocks flying and took an early break against Cerundolo, who despite saving two break points, was engulfed by the speed and power of the Aussie star.

But he was not giving up just there, with De Minaur conceding several errors in the resulting game to hand his opponent a break point of his own before he would concede the game.

A tie break followed and while the two tussled, de Minaur would turn on the gas to steam to a 7-3 lead.

In the third set, De Minaur looked like he had found his mojo. He was clinical in rising to an early break in the fourth game, beating Cerundolo on his own serve having gone 15:40 up in the game but the Argentine, who is ranked 31 on the ATP Tour, hit back with a backhand that ripped through the air to claim a break of his own.

Boulter had been knocked out of the tournament earlier this week by Veronika Kudermetova

De Minaur (pictured) will now face off against Alex Michelsen in the next round of the tournament

But with De Minaur 3-4 ahead, his opponent began to make some unusual errors, pumping the ball into the net and hitting beyond the baseline. De Minaur hit just one winner in the entire exchange opting to keep the ball in play instead of thumping drives to each corner of the court.

And the tactic worked, with Cerundolo conceding a break point himself before De Minaur, to rapturous applause from fans inside the Rod Laver Arena, claimed a 2-1 lead in the match.

While Cerundolo’s booming forehand wasn’t the only ploy in his locker. The Argentinian showcased his deft touch to catch De Minaur out with multiple cutely timed drop shots over the net.

But the Aussie quickly caught on. At 3-3 in the fourth set, Cerundolo chipped the ball over the net on his own serve catching the home favourite out once. He tried again in the subsequent point but De Minaur this time managed to reach the shot. He’d return the ball, with Cerundolo sending him rushing back towards his baseline but again De Minaur recovered. His efforts were not in vain either, with Cerundolo misplacing his shot before sending the ball out of play.

It was the key moment in the final set, with De Minaur sealing a crucial break to go 3-4 up.

The Aussie subsequently held service, with Cerundolo going short again, but De Minuar, this time, cut his response short across the net, winning the point and the game.

He was again made to work for the victory at the end of the match, with Cerundolo saving three match points before he double-faulted to concede the defeat.

This post was originally published on this site

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