Australia's hopes of a homegrown talent winning the Australian Open men's singles for the first time in 49 years were kept alive on Saturday afternoon thanks to a very resilient performance from Alex de Minaur.
Not everything was easy for the Sydney player, who sealed a 7-5, 6-7 (7-3), 3-6, 3-6 comeback against world number 31, Francisco Cerundolo, under scorching heat in Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.
It was perhaps his toughest test so far this week having claimed straight-set wins over Botic van de Zandschuilp and Tristan Boyer, and De Miñaur was forced to fight back after losing a set.
“One thing you can always count on is that even if I don't play my best, I'm going to play until the end,” the Australian said to huge applause from the home fans inside Rod Laver Arena.
De Minaur has been praised this week for showing how calm and collected he can be on the pitch, and there are high expectations for the world number 8 as Australia's great hope. Today he had a much more lively figure. Facing his new fiancée Katie Boulter, he roared when Cerundolo double-faulted to concede match point and slammed his fist into the corner of the crowd where his boyfriend and his coaching staff were sitting.
It was a spectacular comeback from the Australian, who, reflecting on his injury last year, said: “The legs are back!”
Álex de Miñaur showed his resilience to come back and beat Francisco Cerundolo on Saturday
Katie Boulter watched nervously from the stands as her boyfriend fell down a set.
Cerundolo asked De Minaur questions, using his fantastic tennis intelligence to move the Australian around the court.
'My never say die attitude. He got me a break in the last point and I had the crowd on my side. I'm going to get bruises on my quads but it was worth it.
“Last year was tough because of the injury. Get back on the court and compete and not be myself.
“It's been a long six months, but boy, does it feel good.”
De Minaur will now move on to the fourth round of the tournament and face American star Alex Michelsen, but will want to improve on his performance from today's first set after making 28 unforced errors. To put that into context, he scored 15 in his entire second-round clash against Tristan Boyer earlier this week.
Frustrations even boiled over at one point in the set where he appeared to hit a ball well beyond Cerundolo's baseline. The Argentine still returned the ball after it had gone and De Minaur tried to kick the ball into the air, but missed.
He was also seen roaring in his coach's box, searching for answers after falling in the first set.
This competition was a real battle of wills, something the Australian expected before the match.
“It's going to be a battle,” he said during his press conference earlier in the week.
De Minaur hit back in the second set, winning a tiebreak before sealing a 7-5 6-7 (7-3) 3-6 3-6
Cerundolo bothered De Minaur by hitting fantastic drop shots over the net, forcing the Australian forwards off their backline.
'I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be really difficult.
“I have to be prepared from the first point, bring that intensity, play aggressive tennis, bring out a better version of myself, which I think I do every day.”
But it took De Minaur some time to warm up, even with the home fans chanting his name at every opportunity.
Cerundolo chose his shots very well. While De Minaur is regularly hailed as the “fastest man in tennis”, the Australian struggled to match the speed of Cerundolo's sweeping forehand, which moved him from line to line throughout the match. He also bothered De Minaur with some impressive shots over the net and saved two match points in the fourth set by taking out the Australian forward from the baseline.
In the second set, the Australian responded and was lifted by the home fans inside the Rod Laver Arena. He came flying out of the blocks and took an early break against Cerundolo, who despite saving two break points, was engulfed by the speed and power of the Australian star.
But he didn't give up there, De Minaur made several errors in the resulting game to give his opponent a break point before conceding the game.
A tiebreaker followed and as the two battled, De Minaur would hit the accelerator to take a 7-3 lead.
In the third set, De Minaur seemed to have found his magic. He was clinical in earning an early break in the fourth game, beating Cerundolo on his own serve after being 15:40 up in the game, but the Argentine, who is ranked 31st on the ATP Tour, hit back with a setback he went through. the air to claim a rest of their own.
Boulter had been eliminated from the tournament earlier this week by Veronika Kudermetova.
De Minaur (pictured) will now face Alex Michelsen in the next round of the tournament.
But with De Minaur 3-4 ahead, his opponent began to make some unusual mistakes, putting the ball into the net and hitting it beyond the baseline. De Minaur scored just one winner in the entire exchange, opting to keep the ball in play rather than throwing punches to every corner of the court.
And the tactic worked, with Cerundolo conceding a break point before De Miñaur, to enthusiastic applause from the fans inside the Rod Laver Arena, claimed a 2-1 lead in the match.
Although Cerundolo's powerful forehand was not the only tactic in his locker. The Argentine showed off his deft touch to catch De Minaur with multiple highly synchronized shots over the net.
But the Australian quickly caught on. At 3-3 in the fourth set, Cerundolo smashed the ball over the net on his own serve, catching the home favorite once. He tried again on the next point but this time De Minaur managed to reach the shot. He returned the ball and Cerundolo sent him running towards his baseline, but again De Miñaur recovered. His effort was not in vain either, as Cerundolo missed his shot before sending the ball out of play.
It was the key moment of the final set, with De Minaur sealing a crucial break to go 3-4 up.
The Australian subsequently held serve and Cerundolo fell short again, but this time De Minuar cut his response across the net, winning the point and the game.
He was again forced to work for the victory late in the match, with Cerundolo saving three match points before committing a double fault to concede defeat.