The Alex de Minaur show has rolled on at the Next Gen ATP Finals, with the Australian sweeping aside 2017 finalist Andrey Rublev.
Just 24 hours after defeating Liam Caruana in straight sets, de Minaur battled past his volatile Russian opponent on Thursday morning (AEDT) in four sets, 4-1 3-4 (5-7) 4-1 4-2.
De Minaur wrapped up the first set 4-1 before Rublev bounced back in the second, taking it to a tie break with the match teetering on a knife's edge.
While de Minaur's court coverage was again supreme, Rublev lifted on serve and looked odds on to take the tie break, leading 6-2.
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However, de Minaur battled to bring the score to 6-5, before Rublev's big serve and powerful forehand came to his aid once again, claiming the tie break 7-5.
The third set started in earnest with the fiery Russian keeping in check, but he conceded a love game on serve to give de Minaur the chance to serve out the set.
De Minaur didn't need a second invitation, wrapping up the third set 4-1.
From there, de Minaur merely needed to keep his head to win the match, and the 4-2 final set result was a just reward for his effort across the one hour, 24-minute-long match.
Back on 🔝🙌🏼@alexdeminaur fights back for 4-1, 3-4(5), 4-1, 4-2 win against Rublev to join fellow Milan first-timer @StefTsitsipas in the @nextgenfinals SF#NextGenATP pic.twitter.com/mWD5Q7ug2d
— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) November 7, 2018
For Rublev, it was a matter of staying afloat to keep de Minaur on his toes, but a series of poor service games helped the Aussie take the ascendancy in key moments thoughout the match.
Notably, Rublev let the first set slip in a big way - up 30-0 looking to draw level at 2-2, the Russian let de Minaur back into the game, before losing the break to the Australian altogether.
The result? An angry Rublev smashing his racquet against his foot, and later the ground as his impatience caught up to him.
Regardless, de Minaur was delighted to win through to the semi finals in Milan.
Speaking after the match, the 19-year-old was pleased to nullify Rublev's strengths and, concurrently, keep his shoemakers on their toes after another gut-busting, court-covering performance.
"I served really well, and I needed to play my best tennis to beat such a wonderful opponent," de Minaur said after the match.
"I needed to put a lot of pressure on his second serve and hopefully get a couple of free points here and there.
"I brought three [pairs of shoes] just in case. It looks like I'm starting to get a hole in one.
"I might have to bring out a fresh pair tomorrow."
