MELBOURNE, Australia -- Alex de Minaur overcame a one-set deficit and his own serving yips Saturday afternoon to defeat 31st-seed Francisco Cerundolo in a marathon third-round Australian Open match.
The Australian eighth-seed was well below his best at Rod Laver Arena, but came up clutch in the key moments to record a 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-3 victory in three hours and 53 minutes to advance to the Round of 16 at his home Grand Slam for the fourth time in as many years.
"You put in a lot of hard work in the offseason and these are the moment you see the results," de Minaur said in his post-match on-court interview. "I felt great out there. Something you can always count on, even if I don't play my best, I'm going to compete until the end. Never say die attitude."
De Minaur struggled with his serve all afternoon. He landed just 49% of his first serves and struck nine double faults, three of which came in his first service game. He also made an uncharacteristic amount of mistakes, ending the match with 61 unforced errors.
But as Cerundolo's legs began to get weary, de Minaur pounced. The Australian broke Cerundolo in key games in the third and fourth sets and held his nerve on serve for what was his first win over a seeded opponent at Melbourne Park.
De Minaur will face American Alex Michelsen in the fourth round, a stage he has never progressed from at his home Grand Slam.
More to follow...