The Demon was in trouble. He stopped feeling sorry for himself and rose to the occasion

1 month ago 14

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Alex de Minaur was in trouble on Wednesday night.

Already a set down to powerful Serb Hamad Medjedovic, he then found himself facing a break point in the fifth game of the second set.

Alex de Minaur was at his energetic best in his win over Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic.

Four compatriots – Talia Gibson, Storm Hunter, Jordan Thompson and Ajla Tomljanovic – exited the Australian Open earlier on Wednesday, so losing de Minaur would have been a sucker punch for Craig Tiley. But the world No.6 had other plans.

De Minaur doused Medjedovic’s fireworks, then shook off a surprise half-hour rain delay after the second set to post a runaway 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 victory that booked him a round-of-32 spot for the sixth year in a row.

Medjedovic spent most of the final three sets gasping for air as de Minaur gave him a lesson on the intensity, ruthlessness, competitiveness and staying power it takes to be a top-10 star. It was de Minaur’s chance to show everyone, in his words, that he, too, can “play some ball”.

“I portray that image that it’s going to be tough over five sets,” de Minaur said.

“They can come out and play a really good first set, or a good set, but they’re going to have to maintain their level [for] three out of five sets. If they can do that, they’re going to get the win over me.

“But I am doing my best to navigate, even when they’re coming out hot off the blocks. I’m currently six in the world, right? I’ve gotten there because I can play some ball, too.

“More than feeling sorry for myself, I’m starting to look at it the other way – that it’s up to me to get him out of that zone and lift my level and show what I’m made of. That’s what’s helping me with these types of matches.”

Dual major semi-finalist and 2019 Open quarter-finalist Frances Tiafoe, who outlasted Argentine Francisco Comesana in four sets, is de Minaur’s next road block.

De Minaur leads their head-to-head 3-1, including a tight three-set win in Toronto last year.

“Frances is super dangerous. He’s playing well, got a lot of firepower [and] he’s a veteran,” the Australian No.1 said. “We’ve had some battles in the past. I wouldn’t expect anything other than an absolute battle against him. He seems to be locked in.”

Tiafoe, who is coached by Australia’s Mark Kovacs, is not only looking forward to facing de Minaur, but the opportunity to play in “the big house”, Rod Laver Arena.

“It’s earlier than both of us would like [to play each other], but I’m happy to play against him. It’s going to be fun, against all these fans,” Tiafoe said.

“I love playing on the big courts, and now is when the event really gets going. [There are] only tough and good matches ahead, and you have to rise to the occasion. He’s going to come for me; I’m going to come for him. Tennis is going to get their money’s worth.”

De Minaur wrestled his way back against Medjedovic with some exhaustive scrambling, stout defence and the type of mental toughness that his 22-year-old rival – viewed as Serbia’s great hope once grand slam legend Novak Djokovic eventually retires – is still searching for.

Medjedovic started the night on a mission to crush serves and groundstrokes with an obvious strategy to bully de Minaur and keep points short, which served him well for a set-and-a-bit.

But he was showing signs of stress early in the second set – and began venting his frustration at his team, complaining to the chair umpire and even gave a sarcastic thumbs up to the crowd after pro-de Minaur fans cheered a double fault.

De Minaur plays an off-balance backhand against Medjedovic.

Medjedovic’s resistance had waned by the time de Minaur levelled the match at a set-all, but the break in play offered the rising Serb a chance to reset.

Instead, de Minaur claimed the first six points on resumption, which rapidly turned into a 4-0 buffer. By then, the final result was inevitable.

It remains to be seen whether de Minaur and Tiafoe will play during the day or in primetime under lights, but the Australian is prepared for either scenario.

“The way I look at this is the bigger matches are always going to be played at night, so if I want to go deep at this tournament, I need to play well in those types of conditions,” de Minaur said.

“I’m happy with the way I dealt with the conditions today. There were a lot of different conditions. We started with the roof open, and it was quite swirly, then all of a sudden, the roof closed, and it was an indoor match.