Source : ABC NEWS
Alex de Minaur has spoiled the coming-of-age party for “an incredible talent” as he marched into the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters in his first clay-court tournament of the season.
The Australian had his hands full in his last-16 clash against rising star Alexander Blockx, who celebrated his 21st birthday the day before by beating 10th seed Flavio Cobolli, before finally subduing the Belgian qualifier 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) on Court des Princes at the Monte-Carlo Country Club.
It thrust de Minaur into the quarters at the prestigious ATP 1000 event, where he made the semis last year, and helped erase the disappointment of two recent early exits at Indian Wells and Miami.
“It was unfortunate to lose early in the States, because I was actually quite happy with my level and thought I hopefully could go deep,” the world number six said.
“But these things happen, and ultimately, I’m happy I’ve bounced back here on the clay. Hopefully it’s the start of a good clay swing.”
Big-serving world number 91 Blockx raced into an early 4-2 lead, forcing de Minaur to conjure up a couple of breaks to seal the set.
Valentin Vacherot will be a crowd favourite against de Minaur. (Getty Images: Julian Finney)
Neither could summon a break in the second stanza, but de Minaur’s extra aggression in the tiebreak — he hit 21 winners — helped him wrap up the hard-fought victory in one hour and 47 minutes.
In the quarters, de Minaur will find himself friendless as he faces local Monegasque hero Valentin Vacherot, who will jump into the top 20 for the first time in his career after beating Hubert Hurkacz 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-4.
That continued the fairytale rise that began when then-world number 204 Vacherot beat five seeded players, including Novak Djokovic, to win October’s Shanghai Masters as a qualifier.
Vacherot, the only player from Monaco on the singles tour, beat world number five and 2025 runner-up Lorenzo Musetti in the previous round to give de Minaur a look at the top five for the first time in his career but, with semifinal points to defend, the Australian could actually drop back to seventh courtesy of Felix Auger-Aliassime’s run to the quarters.
“It’s still the first week of the clay and there’s things I would love to do a little bit better, but, hey, I’m in the quarterfinals, and I’m excited for the battle,” de Minaur said.
He will have even more illustrious company in the last eight, as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner remain on course for a shootout for the world number one spot in the final.
De Minaur will meet Alcaraz in the semis if they can get past Vacherot and Alexander Bublik respectively. Nineteen-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca reached his first Masters quarterfinal and will face third seed Alexander Zverev, while Auger-Aliassime meets Sinner.
The world number two’s record run of 37 consecutive sets won at Masters 1000s ended but not his winning streak as the Italian ultimately made it past dangerous Czech Tomáš Macháč 6-1, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3.
AAP
