De Minaur books place in Next Gen semis

Australian young gun Alex de Minaur has beaten Andrey Rublev to guarantee himself a semi-finals spot at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

The teenage Sydneysider broke the Russian world No. 68 four times during the secondround encounter to score a comfortable 4-1 3-4 (5-7) 4-1 4-2 win at the annual tournament for top 21-and-under talent.

‘‘It was great,’’ said de Minaur, the world No. 31.

‘‘I knew coming in it was going to be a really tough match and I was going to have to play some really good tennis and not leave too many balls short because his forehand is seriously one of the most dangerous weapons out there on the tour.’’

Second seed De Minaur will attempt to complete the round robin stage undefeated when he plays American Taylor Fritz next.

In the other group, top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece became the first player to secure a semi-final spot when he beat thirdseeded Frances Tiafoe 4-3 (7-3), 4-3(7-5) 4-2.