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“It’s just the mentality,” explained De Minaur when asked how he managed to overcome the challenge of Thompson on Monday.
“Positive mindset no matter what, try to play every point, try to win every point. Just as always, compete my heart out.”
De Minaur wins seesaw affair
While the 6-0 scoreline in the first set and four-set finish may make this match appear one-sided in De Minaur’s favour, it was far from that.
The 10th seed did start faster, racing out to a set lead before all the spectators could take their seats in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Thompson was clearly nervous, with his swing very tight as he made 12 unforced errors and won just 32 percent of points on his own serve.
However, with the horror start out of the way, Thompson found his range and began approaching the net more with great success. He was dominant across the board in the second set, serving much better (79 percent of first serves made and 73 percent won) and making just 10 unforced errors to 12 winners, with 12 of 17 points won at the net.
De Minaur responded with a strong second set. The Aussie showed his trademark determination, chasing down ball after ball to force errors from Thompson. The approach worked, with Thompson spraying 15 unforced errors and handing the set to De Minaur 6-3.
In the fourth, it seemed as though Thompson would force a decider. He gained an early break, racing out to a 3-1 lead. Even when he lost the break, he stuck around, saving three break points of his own at 4-4, 0-40.
However, more errors – this time 22 in the set – were again Thompson’s downfall, as he just couldn’t capitalise on his chances. De Minaur broke him in the 11th game, before going on to serve out the match.
De Minaur, ranked No 10, will face No 25 seed Jack Draper next, against whom he owns a 3-0 head-to-head record.
Alex De Minaur defeated American Marcos Giron (6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4), Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen (7-5, 6-1, 7-6 (3)) and Daniel Evans (6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-0, 6-0) ahead of his victory.
Earlier in the tournament, Thompson, ranked No 32, won against Frenchman Constant Lestienne (6-1, 6-3, 6-2), Pole Hubert Hurkacz, the No 7 seed (7-6 (2), 6-1, 7-5) and Italian Matteo Arnaldi, the No 30 seed (7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (5)).
New York (Grand Slam), other last 16 results (USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, hard, USD 75.000.000, most recent results first):
- Jannik Sinner vs. Tommy Paul
- Daniil Medvedev (5) beat Nuno Borges: 6-0, 6-1, 6-3
- Jack Draper beat Tomas Machac: 6-3, 6-1, 6-2
- Frances Tiafoe (20) beat Alexei Popyrin (28): 6-4, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3
- Alexander Zverev (4) beat Brandon Nakashima: 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2
- Taylor Fritz (12) beat Casper Ruud (8): 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2
- Grigor Dimitrov (9) beat Andrey Rublev (6): 6-3, 7-6 (3), 1-6, 3-6, 6-3
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