Alex de Minaur's sterling 2018 has continued, with the Australian kicking off his Next Gen ATP Finals campaign with a strong win over wildcard entrant Liam Caruana.
Caruana was helpless at the other end to a player ranked 662 places higher than him as de Minaur dominated the match, needing just 55 minutes to win in straight sets, 4-1 4-1 4-2.
The 19-year-old nailed 14 winners, eight of them off the forehand, and won 57 points to Caruana's 38.
Shining like a 💎! @alexdeminaur takes the match against Caruana for 4-1 4-1 4-2. #NextGenATP pic.twitter.com/uES90rYB8K
— Next Gen ATP Finals (@nextgenfinals) November 6, 2018
De Minaur was beaming after the match.
"It was great, my first appearance here at Milan, I've had a great year. I'm enjoying every second it. I couldn't think of a better start," de Minaur said after the match.
"I played [Caruana] in juniors, funnily enough, a while back... the main thing was to be really intense.
"With this format, every single point counts. You've got to be there, point in point out, try and take care of your service games and got into too many of those sudden-death deuces."
Fast and furious 💥@alexdeminaur opens his account in Milan with an impressive 4-1 4-1 4-2 triumph over Liam Caruana. #NextGenATP pic.twitter.com/Sy0fvaTbdw
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 6, 2018
Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, 2017 finalist Andrey Rublev and Frances Tiafoe were the other winners on the opening day of the round-robin tournament, which features the world's best 21-and-under players.
However, all eyes were on de Minaur as his breakout year continued in fine fashion against Caruana.
SEND. NEW. SHOES... 👿
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 6, 2018
Jaw-dropping court coverage from @alexdeminaur #NextGenATP pic.twitter.com/SDADOm2Rx8
A series of strong runs deep into tournaments in 2018 have vindicated de Minaur's world ranking of 31.
Should he retain the ranking or rise, he will be guaranteed a seeding for January's Australian Open, giving him a chance to make another inspired run in Melbourne.
However, the Next Gen ATP Finals will not distribute any points for the ATP Rankings for the participants - but the ATP still counts it as an official tournament victory.
"Who wants to be in pic?" 😍 We love your smile, @alexdeminaur! #NextGenATP pic.twitter.com/EZpFGC7lik
— Next Gen ATP Finals (@nextgenfinals) November 6, 2018
One of his finest performances in 2018 came at Flushing Meadows back at the US Open in August, with de Minaur pushing Marin Cilic all the way in a five-set thriller.
It's a positive time for tennis in Australia, with Ash Barty claiming her biggest career win on Sunday after downing Wang Qiang in the WTA Elite Trophy final.
