De Minaur run shows teen spirit
AUSTRALIAN wildcard Alex de Minaur has surged into the Brisbane International semi-finals with a commanding victory over fellow teenager Michael Mmoh of the United States.
De Minaur, who has not dropped a set all tournament, held his nerve in a close opening set before blowing his opponent away in the second to win 6-4 6-0.
“I had a lot of nerves coming into this match, a big opportunity for me,” de Minaur said.
“I ended up battling through that first set and finding some of my best tennis for this tournament.”
The 18-year-old, ranked 208th in the world, picked up an estimated 2000 extra Instagram followers after knocking No.4 seed and former champion Milos Raonic out of the tournament in straight sets on Wednesday.
That followed another straight-sets win against 44th-ranked American Steve Johnson in the first round.
De Minaur’s latest win set up a semi-final against either Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan and American Ryan Harrison.
The Australian saved three break points in the sixth game of the first set.
He made Mmoh work to hold serve in the next game, the Australian’s superb movement on display as he scrambled from the far right side of the court to the far left to retrieve the ball with a deft backhand.
The 19-year-old American qualifier ultimately held, but de Minaur broke him on his next service game and converted his third set point in the next with a ripping forehand down the line.
“As soon as that first set was done, I felt a little bit of pressure releasing and I was able to hit more freely and hit through the court and at the end just play my tennis, which was great,” de Minaur said.