Alex De Minaur is through to the semi-finals of the Sydney International for the second straight year where he will meet French veteran Gilles Simon.
Teenage sensation De Minaur came back from a mini-break in the first set tiebreak and an early second-set service break to record a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 victory over countryman Jordan Thompson on Wednesday.
It was the second straight week the 19-year-old has sent Thompson packing after also beating his fellow Aussie in Brisbane.
De Minaur faces a stern test against Simon on Thursday in a bid to return to the Sydney International final for the second straight year.
MORE: Australian Open draw 2019: Aussies draw big names in round one |
Fourth-seed Simon needed all of his experience to see off Millman and book a showdown with De Minaur in an epic quarter-final that finished at around 2am local time.
The French veteran needed over two-and-a-half hours to overcome the spirited Millman 7-5 3-6 7-6 (7-3).
Gilles Simon beats John Millman 7-5 3-6 7-6(3) in a match lasting over two and a half hours. #SydneyTennis pic.twitter.com/M7rB79lQ9b
— Brendan Bradford (@1bbradfo) January 10, 2019
Millman’s ongoing battle with the flu appeared to catch up with him in the third set.
He failed to serve out the match as Simon forced a tiebreaker, which he dominated to seal the hard-fought win.
The support out here for @johnhmillman is incredible at 1:20am.
— Brendan Bradford (@1bbradfo) January 10, 2019
Jordan Thompson and Lleyton Hewitt watching from the players’ lounge too (they just played doubles) #SydneyTennis
Meanwhile, Andreas Seppi dumped top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas out of the Sydney tournament with a 4-6 6-4 6-4 upset victory.
The Italian veteran will play Diego Schwartzman in the other semi-final after the Argentine beat Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1 3-6 7-6 (7-1).
