Alex de Minaur is on to the next…
The 20-year-old Uruguayan and Spanish-Australian tennis phenom, the top seed at this year’s Next Gen ATP Finals, has advanced to the semifinals at the tournament after producing his best performance of the week.
de Minaur fired 23 winners to reach the semifinals with a 4-1, 4-0, 4-2 win over Norway’s Casper Ruud in just 61 minutes.
de Minaur clinched his spot in the last four after winning the opening set against Ruud. The Aussie finished 3-0 in Group A, marking the second straight year he’s gone undefeated in round-robin play at the event.
His victory marked a record-breaking seventh win in Milan, breaking a tie with Andrey Rublev. Meanwhile, Ruud has been eliminated after dropping to 1-2.
“I knew from playing Casper before that he’d dictate any short ball without a purpose,” De Minaur said. “The game plan was to play on my own terms, play aggressively, play different styles of tennis. The goal I had was [to take] any half-chance, go up and back myself at the net. I’m glad it worked out today. I’m looking forward to the semi-finals.”
de Minaur arrived in Milan at a career-high No. 18 in the ATP world rankings. He used the momentum from his runner-up finish at last year’s event to spur a breakout season that includes his first three ATP Tour titles at the Sydney International, BB&T Atlanta Open and Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships. He further proved his mettle indoors by reaching the final two weeks ago at the Swiss Indoors Basel, losing to Roger Federer.
He’ll next face USA’s Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals.
