Alex de Minaur has defeated Tommy Paul in straight sets to join countryman Nick Kyrgios in the round of 16 at the Indian Wells Masters in California.
Alex de Minaur has beaten Tommy Paul in straight sets to charge into the round of 16 at the Indian Wells Masters in southern California.
A day after wildcard Nick Kyrgios dispatched world No.8 Casper Ruud to become the first Australian into the fourth round, de Minaur joined his compatriot with a 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 defeat of Paul.
De Minaur exhibited his trademark battling qualities in the one hour and 49 minute match to defy an opponent that had knocked off third-seeded Alexander Zverev in his previous round.
"Look, I'm not going to lie, I'd much rather a 6-0 6-0 (win) in 40 minutes, but it's the art of the game," de Minaur said in his on-court interview.
"More often than not there's a good chance I'm going to have these long gruelling matches, so I'm ready for it,"
"I've put a lot of work in physically to be able to withstand these long rallies and hot conditions to go the distance and try to do whatever it takes."
The 29th-seed saved five break points in the third game of the match before he jumped out to a 4-2 lead when he broke Paul's serve.
While de Minaur was unable to consolidate the break he dominated the tiebreaker, which he won on the third of six set points.
A lone break of serve in the seventh game of the second set was all de Minaur needed as he sealed victory with an emphatic overhead.
De Minaur holds a 3-1 head-to-head advantage over his next opponent Taylor Fritz, although the American prevailed in their most recent encounter at the US Open last September.
"It's always really tough playing Demon," Fritz said of de Minaur.
"He wins a lot of points that are pretty frustrating just by how many balls he gets back ... I know I'm going to have to play really well."
Fritz, the 20th seed, needed almost three hours and a third-set tiebreaker to overcome Jaume Munar.
Meanwhile, Italian sixth seed Matteo Berrettini survived a mid-match dip against Lloyd Harris to seal a 6-4 7-5 victory.
Polish 11th seed Hubert Hurkacz, veteran American John Isner and unseeded Serb Miomir Kecmanovic also won to advance to the last 16.
with Reuters
