Alex de Minaur has pulled off a Masters-ful upset…
The 23-year-old Uruguayan/Spanish Australian tennis player stunned fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 in the second round of the Paris Masters.
It was de Minaur’s first time beating Medvedev in five meetings.
After rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the final set, de Minaur failed to convert his first two match points at 5-4. He hit a return out on the first match point and made an unforced error on the second.
But he player got two more chances at 6-5. Medvedev saved the third match point with a service winner before double-faulting on the fourth and angrily throwing his racket to the ground.
“I’m glad I played a very tactical match,” de Minaur told Tennis Channel. “I just tried to wait for my right ball and just back myself and back my volley. It’s something that I tried to implement a lot more. I don’t do it as often as I would like, but I’ve got some decent volleys.”
Medvedev, who won the Paris Masters in 2020 and was runner-up last year, dropped serve in the first set by overhitting a smash in the final game. But the Russian player capitalized on unforced errors by de Minaur to break twice in the second set.
de Minaur will next face Frances Tiafoe, who beat Jack Draper 6-3, 7-5.