Demon creates history in an Australian Open mission to prove his doubters wrong

Confidence never came easily for Alex de Minaur – but that is no longer a problem.

Australia’s last man standing produced arguably his finest performance at any Australian Open on Friday night to eliminate American Frances Tiafoe, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, in front of an adoring Rod Laver Arena crowd as he silenced more doubters.

De Minaur also becomes the only Australian to make the last 16 at the Open in five successive years since the tournament switched from Kooyong in 1988.

This result comes on the back of the 26-year-old winning more hardcourt matches than any other men’s player last year, the type of feat that has helped fuel his new-found belief that he can mix it with the best.

“I have always been one to let my tennis do the talking, and I have always found it quite tough to have that confidence if the results aren’t there,” de Minaur said.

“I know some players have the ability to not be affected by results, but for me, in terms of confidence, it was quite hard for me to really believe in myself unless I got those results. As the years have gone on, I have had those results.

“Obviously, if I want to take the next step, I’ve got to believe that I can do it.

“I’m now at a position where I know my game, I know what I want, I know that I don’t want to be [just] another number in the draw. I know that there is a lot of people who don’t think I can do it. That’s completely fine, but I’m going to keep on pushing myself with my team and trying to prove those people wrong.”

The six-time major quarter-finalist is one of the tour’s most consistently excellent performers, and has failed to reach the last 16 at a grand slam just once in his past 10 attempts.

De Minaur has made no secret of his ambition to one day hold aloft the Australian Open trophy. But first he must exact revenge against world No.10 Alexander Bublik, who beat him from two sets down in the second round at Roland-Garros last year to kick-start the Kazakh’s career-best run of form.

Bublik booked the de Minaur clash with a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 win over Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Tiafoe tried to stage an improbable late fightback after going down a break in the third set, drawing level and threatening to extend the match into a fourth.

But one more wild forehand, off a service-box return that de Minaur barely blocked back, proved Tiafoe’s undoing after he saved four earlier break points with inspired tennis in what proved the penultimate game.

Even then, de Minaur wobbled a little with the finish line in sight, needing three match points – either side of staving off a break-back point – to complete victory in two hours and 43 minutes.

“Frances is a hell of a competitor, a hell of a player, and it was a hell of a battle, so huge respect to him,” he said.

“I played some of my best tennis in the tournament for two-and-a-half sets, and he lifted when he needed it, and he started going big. He started returning and playing with some great depth, taking the racquet out of my hand.

“I just had to manage it, and it was quite stressful at the end, but I’m very relieved that I got over the line.”

De Minaur had to absorb some early blows from Tiafoe, including staving off a pair of break points in the seventh game. The second of them was the start of de Minaur’s ascension, and a perfect encapsulation of why this contest swung in his favour.

Tiafoe rocketed a deep forehand return at him, but de Minaur somehow controlled a half-volley from just inside the baseline before the American haphazardly dragged a forehand wide.

It was far from the last time that de Minaur’s stubborn defence came to the fore. As for former world No.10 Tiafoe, he lacked the same patience and diligence with his decision-making.

De Minaur controlled proceedings from that moment until midway through the third set.

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He has an incredible knack for chasing balls down and finding ways to extend rallies and place his opponents in difficult positions. Something else de Minaur did well on Friday night was regularly being able to dictate from the baseline while shifting Tiafoe at the other end.

“I was very pleased with the way I was hitting the ball, in heavy conditions against an opponent who’s quite strong and manoeuvres the ball around very well and can easily overpower me – but that wasn’t the case today,” de Minaur said.

Tiafoe dropping the first set was a blow to his chances after such a bright start, and he was quickly in trouble early in the second.

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