A man on a mission, Alex de Minaur has motored into the Australian Open third round in Melbourne.
Australia’s eighth-seeded title hope continued his best start to an Open in four years with a 6-2 6-4 6-3 disposal of American qualifier Tristan Boyer on Thursday.
Revered for his lightning speed, de Minaur showcased his vastly improved service game and net play in another super impressive display on Rod Laver Arena.
He clocked one serve at 217km/h, fired down six aces and won almost 90 per cent of points after landing his first serve, while breaking Boyer six times in a thoroughly dominant victory.
Boyer himself flew out of the blocks, breaking de Minaur in the opening game of the match.
But the world No.136, contesting only his second grand slam match, would have been the lowest-ranked player de Minaur had ever lost to at Melbourne Park, and he never seriously threatened an upset.
From 2-0 down, de Minaur reeled off seven straight games to seize command and, to chants of “Demon, Demon, Demon” from the joyous crowd, ultimately prevailed in a tick under two hours, finishing with a blazing airborne forehand winner.
He was a gracious winner.
“Obviously somebody completely new for me to be on the other side of the court against, it is never easy.
“He is a dangerous player, plays aggressive and takes the racquet out of your hand.
“My team did some scouting and let me know a couple of things and ultimately it was about me bringing in the best version of myself.
“That’s what I needed to do and I am happy with that.”
In matching his 2021 effort in reaching the Open’s last 32 without dropping a set, de Minaur next faces Argentina’s world No.32 Francisco Cerundolo on Saturday.
“I’ll be ready for a battle,” he said.
“It will be tough. He is a quality opponent, lots of firepower, great forehand.
“He has taken some big scalps and hopefully I am not the next one.”
Special Ks in doubt
Australia’s “Special Ks” – Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kryrgios – remain in the Open doubles draw, but they are in doubt to compete.
Kokkinakis has conceded his debilitating pectoral muscle injury will likely force him to pull out of his hotly-anticipated doubles reunion with Kyrgios.
Kokkinakis and Kyrgios, the 2022 champions, are scheduled to play countrymen Aleksandar Vukic and James Duckworth in their first-round match on Thursday night.
Both have previously publicly stated their commitment to seeing through a doubles return after capturing the nation’s attention on their blistering, fun-loving run to the title.
“Yeah, me and Thanasi, I think we owe it to each other to go out there and play,” Kyrgios had said after his singles first-round exit.
But unfortunately, reality is about to get in the way again.
While Kyrgios’s injuries were the problem over the past two years, this time it’s Kokkinakis who is set to pull the pin.
Kokkinakis battled with his pectoral trouble during his marathon second-round loss to No.15 seed Jack Draper on Wednesday.
He later confirmed it was a long-standing issue that had him going through “mental torture and physical torture”. He conceded he would probably have to pull out of doubles, with another long stint on the sidelines ahead.
“I feel like I’m letting him (Kyrgios) down, I’m letting people down but yeah, I don’t know,” Kokkinakis said on Wednesday night.
“I won’t be able to lift my arm tomorrow. So we’ll see.
“Unless we’re both playing with underarm serves, it’s looking pretty unlikely.”
-with AAP
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