De Minaur closes in on Eastbourne glory
WIMBLEDON will have to wait for Alex de Minaur, whose Eastbourne title defence has reached the semi-finals.
Australia’s top-ranked player is set to be the No.18 seed at next week’s grasscourt grand slam but he is firmly focused on first winning his sixth career ATP Tour singles title.
De Minaur dropped his first set of the week to Tommy Paul and had to fight back from 1-4 down in the final set to score a gutsy 6-2 4-6 6-4 victory in a rollercoaster contest lasting two hours and 18 minutes.
“(It was) stressful, that’s for sure, but I’m incredibly happy, because I think this was a very high-level match from both of us and it could have gone either way,” he said.
“I’m just happy I was able to turn it around.
“It’s a big win mentally for me, which I really needed, so I’m very happy with that ... I live to fight another day.”
Another American, Taylor Fritz, is waiting for the Sydneysider after he eased past Nick
Kyrgios’ sometime doubles partner Alexander Bublik 6-3 6-2.
Maxime Cressy, also of the United States, will face Great Britain’s Jack Draper in the other semi-final.
“It should be a fun one. We played earlier in the year and he got me, 7-6 in the third, so I’m ready for a battle,” de Minaur said. “Hopefully, we get another beautiful day like today and we can go out there and enjoy our time on the grass.”
With British tennis-playing girlfriend Katie Boulter watching from the stands, de Minaur had to dig deep against Paul, who eliminated second seed Jannik Sinner, of Italy, in his previous match.