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Lopez battles past young Australian

One of the stories of the Australian summer is continuing this week at the Sydney International. Alex de Minaur, the 18-year-old Aussie who reached the semi-finals of the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp last week (l. to Harrison), collected another win on Tuesday at the Sydney International.

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The #NextGenATP Aussie, who's from Sydney, saved six of seven break points and knocked out Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-2 in 76 minutes. De Minaur, who is receiving guidance from Lleyton Hewitt, will next meet seventh seed Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“It's definitely helping me out every day I'm out here on court and competing,” said de Minaur. “It's a huge boost in confidence, playing against high-level opponents and playing some great tennis, getting out of difficult situations, as well, which is helping me just feel confident out on court. I love the way I'm playing at the moment, and I really just want to keep it going.”

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Verdasco's countryman Feliciano Lopez avoided an upset, coming back to beat Aussie qualifier Aleksander Vukic, No. 462 in the ATP Rankings, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3. Argentine Leonardo Mayer came through in his upset bid, overcoming eighth seed Mischa Zverev of Germany 7-5, 6-3. Mayer broke Zverev five times as the serve-and-volleying left-hander landed only 54 per cent of his first serves.

American Jared Donaldson got the better of Gilles Simon of France 6-1, 6-4, while Benoit Paire knocked out Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-3. Two days ago, Simon captured the 13th ATP World Tour title of his career – and his first for almost three years – at the Tata Open Maharashtra (d. Anderson).

Paire knocks out defending champion Muller

Playing with a confidence and maturity that belies his years, Australian Alex de Minaur continued his assault at the Sydney International on Thursday night.

Under the guidance of Lleyton Hewitt, who, 20 years ago captured his first ATP World Tour crown as a 16-year-old in Adelaide, World No. 167 de Minaur put Spain’s Feliciano Lopez, a player twice the teenager’s age, to the sword 6-4, 6-4 in 86 minutes.

“It was lots of fun,” said de Minaur, smiling. “I reckon it's probably my latest night I played, and it was great to play in front of such an energetic crowd – especially to play on your home court, it meant a lot for me to get that win.”

The 18-year-old de Minaur became the lowest-ranked Sydney semi-finalist since then No. 223 Andrey Cherkasov in 1989 and will next face the talented Frenchman Benoit Paire.

“It's going to be another match,” said de Minaur. “I'm going to get out there and do what I have been doing. It's going to be fun. He's a very talented player, who plays at a very high level. I'm just going to go out there, try to weather the storm, and try to play my game.”

De Minaur improved to 6-1 in 2018 after he broke Lopez’s serve in the ninth game of the first set, then in the first and fifth games of the second set for a 4-1 lead. Although Lopez, who make his ATP World Tour debut in April 1998 at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, fought to get back on level terms, de Minaur’s consistency was too much.
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Paire reached his second ATP World Tour semi-final of the new season when he knocked out defending champion Gilles Muller.

A break of serve in each set – the seventh game of the first, and the fifth game of the second set – proved to be enough, coupled with 17 aces, for the talented Frenchman in a 6-4, 6-4 victory over 72 minutes.

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Paire has now beaten Muller in three of their four FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings. He will be hoping to go one better than at last week’s Tata Open Maharahtra, where he lost to Kevin Anderson in the semi-finals.

Youngest ATP World Tour finalist since Fritz at 2016 Memphis
Alex de Minaur’s star continued to shine bright on Friday as the Australian teenager booked his spot in the Sydney International final.
The local boy competed with great maturity, regrouping after losing the first set, to beat Benoit Paire of France 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 in one hour and 50 minutes for a place in his first ATP World Tour final.
“I was a set down with not a lot of belief in me, and this crowd just picked me up, picked my intensity up and got me over the line,” said de Minaur. “I just tried to be tough. I tried to find a way to just keep making balls and just trying to be that blue wall. Once I got on court I tried to make the most out of this occasion and I’m glad I came out with the win.”
De Minaur has now won 11 of his past 12 matches – including four best-of-five-set victories in the Australian Open wild card play-off, a semi-final run at last week’s Brisbane International presented by Suncorp and in Sydney.
Standing in his way of replicating Lleyton Hewitt’s achievement of winning the 2000 Sydney title as an 18-year-old will be Russian Daniil Medvedev, who earlier in the day recovered from a set and 1-3 deficit to beat fourth seed Fabio Fognini of Italy.
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Looking ahead to meeting Medvedev in the final, de Minaur said, "He's a young guy, as well. He played at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. [He's] a very dangerous player, [with a] very big game. It's going to be another battle. It's going to be fun. I'm sure we are both going to come out swinging, so it should be a fun match."
Both Medvedev and de Minaur, when sponsored by Tecnifibre, took part in a training camp a few years ago.
"I remember that camp," said de Minaur. "I was able to get to hit with a lot of these guys and I cherish the moment and the chance of training against these bigger guys. I'm definitely going to take that into account and, I'm sure, tomorrow we will talk about a game plan. I'll just try to come out there and execute it like it's just another match."
De Minaur is the youngest ATP World Tour finalist since American Taylor Fritz at 2016 Memphis at at No. 167 in the ATP Rankings is the lowest-ranked Sydney finalist since then-No. 223 Andrei Cherkasov reached the 1989 title match.
Last week in Brisbane, de Minaur recorded the biggest victory of his career when he beat Milos Raonic en route to the Brisbane semi-finals (l. to Harrison).
Twenty years ago this week, former World No. 1 Hewitt - who watched de Minaur's victory on Ken Rosewall Arena - captured his first ATP World Tour title at 1998 Adelaide.

On Saturday night, three-time Grand Slam champion and former world No.1 Andy Murray added his voice to the growing chorus of applause for the exploits of Alex de Minaur.

And little wonder; ‘The Demon’ has captivated the tennis scene in the past fortnight with his pulsating performances.

Now his picture is plastered across the back pages and covering the columns online, and his name is booming around the news channels – something the 18-year-old admits is “strange”.

“I guess when you're a little kid, that's something you aspire to get to. It's crazy that it's happening now,” he said on Sunday at Melbourne Park.

“But it's the same old me. Nothing's going to change. I'm still going to get out there on court and leave it all out there, give it my best.”

I have a little bit of confidence, self-belief. I'm really happy with where my level's at.
Alex de Minaur

De Minaur began 2018 with a semifinal surge in Brisbane, ousting Milos Raonic along the way.

Next came his childhood courts in Sydney, where De Minaur put in a scintillating effort to head into a maiden ATP Final on Saturday.

At 4-0 down in the decider, De Minaur hauled himself back to 5-5, embodying the relentless on-court endeavour of mentor Lleyton Hewitt.

Next Gen star Daniil Medvedev eventually clinched a 1-6 6-4 7-5 triumph, but the Aussie prodigy will cherish his hometown heroics.

“It was crazy. All the support I got that week was just unbelievable,” added the world No.167.

“Growing up and hitting on those courts, actually watching that tournament as a spectator, to actually play in the final there, was an incredible experience, a week I'll never forget.”

In Melbourne last year, De Minaur laid the foundations, having defeated Gerald Melzer as a wildcard to reach the main draw second round.

He’ll hope for another landmark showing in the first round of his home major this year, taking on world No.20 Tomas Berdych on Tuesday. It’s a challenge the teenager is relishing to tackle.

“Every single time I step on court, I'm learning something new. I'm trying to soak it all up. I'm using it to deal with different types of situations,” he said.

“Against Tomas, it's going to be a very tough match. Then again, I can't wait to get out there. It's going to be fun.

“I want to leave it all out there, compete every point, give myself the best opportunity I can to play well. I think that's the only thing I can ask from myself. Hopefully it's a real good battle. It's going to be fun, I can't wait.”

Berdych has reached the Australian Open semifinals twice, but De Minaur is undeterred – and determined to replicate his recent soaring form.

“I have a little bit of confidence, self-belief,” he said.

“I'm really happy with where my level's at, at the moment. I'm just trying to continue to ride this wave.”

Aussie looks to continue his success from the Australian summer

He has the same “I-can-win-any-match” attitude. He pounds his chest with similar enthusiasm after big wins, and Alex de Minaur's tennis still thrives best when saturated with emotion.

But the 18-year-old Aussie, who, for the second year in a row, delighted his home fans during the Australian summer, believes he's a different player than he was in 2017, when he earned his first tour-level wins in January.

De Minaur is stronger – physically and mentally – than he was 12 months ago, and he carries with him the experiences of his first full season as a professional tennis player, a year that saw him start strong in his home country but not win another tour-level match after January.

De Minaur

“I think it's more of just believing in myself. I have been bringing out this level but just not sustaining it. Now I have seemed to find my way and am sustaining it and playing a lot of good matches in a row,” said de Minaur, who started 2018 7-3 in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

“It's all about maintaining that. At the end of the day, I'm just going to get out there and on court, give it my all, and that's what I want to do every day. That's what I want to be known for, and that's what I want other players to know about me, that I'm never going to give up.”

The 18-year-old has convinced a continent of that. He checked off a trifecta of accomplishments last year in Australia that can take years for some players to achieve. De Minaur qualified for his first tour-level tournament (Brisbane International presented by Suncorp); he earned his first tour-level win (Sydney International, d. Paire); and at his home Grand Slam, the Australian Open, he celebrated his maiden Slam victory (d. Gerald Melzer).

This year, while facing the pressure of trying to back up those results, de Minaur improved at almost every tournament. The 5'11” right-hander made the semi-finals in Brisbane, beating two-time ATP World Tour titlist Steve Johnson before sweeping former World No. 3 Milos Raonic, the 2016 Brisbane champion (d. Federer). In Sydney, de Minaur played for his first ATP World Tour title, falling to Russian Daniil Medvedev in three sets.

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“It's great to see that I've got the level to beat these guys, and make back-to-back great results. That's something I was really trying to work on from last year, and to be more consistent, and I felt like I proved myself there in that aspect these two weeks,” he said.

A countryman who knows everything about belief and self-confidence has aided de Minaur's maturation. Former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt has been a steady voice for de Minaur, helping the teenager navigate day-to-day life on the ATP World Tour.

de Minaur

“He's obviously been through everything that tennis has to offer, so he knows how to deal with so many different scenarios... how to deal with expectations and pressures and, just playing big guys. It's all there. He gives me a lot of advice, and the only thing I do is take it all in,” de Minaur said.

The Aussie also credited his coach, Adolfo Gutierrez. The two train together in Alicante, Spain, where de Minaur views every practice as a chance to improve his evolving game. “Every day is another chance to get better,” he said.

If the Sydney native can keep improving, he will find himself among the ATP World Tour's elite 21-and-under players at the end of the season. De Minaur, with 240 points, is currently second in the ATP Race To Milan, which will determine seven of the eight players who compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. Last year's champion, Hyeon Chung of South Korea, just reached the semi-finals at the 2018 Australian Open (ret. v. Federer).

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“It's still very early but I'm just focusing match by match, point by point. I don't really want to get too ahead of myself,” de Minaur said.

“It's all about me believing... I think that's finally happening and I'm very proud of even all the work I'm doing off court as well. That's, I think, really helping me on court and you can see the results now.”