A touching moment unfolded after Alex de Minaur won 6-0, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 against American star Alex Michelsen tonight.
It is the first time he has reached the quarterfinals in his Slam at home and there was great emotion from his family at the end of the match.
Michelelsen trailed 3-5 but fought hard in the final game in an attempt to take the match to the fourth set.
And at one point, the American got a break point, taking a 40-30 lead in the ninth game of the third set.
Sitting below us in the press box, Esther, Alex de Minaur's mother, became nervous after her son took two errant shots, one into the net and one beyond the baseline, to go down 15 -30. But he recovered, taking the final game to two.
Scenes of jubilation erupted in the 14,820-capacity stadium and De Miñaur's mother, Esther, burst into tears.
She covered her eyes as they filled with tears, before standing up to give de Minaur's new fiancée, Katie Boulter, sitting in a row in front of her, a big hug.
The pair were seen exchanging a few words as the crowd applauded the local Australian favorite's big win against Michelsen.
De Minaur has only lost one set so far in the tournament, but he will face a tough challenge in the quarterfinals: world number one Jannik Sinner.
There was another touching moment during their on-court interview, when De Minaur was pressed about his recent engagement to Boulter, whose Australian Open campaign came to an end last week after Veronika Kudermetova defeated her.
When asked if his commitment to Boulter had anything to do with his great form last week, De Minaur said: “I don't believe in coincidences, but when you are happy off the court, you play good tennis on the court.” . .'
Notably, De Minaur ran from the Rod Laver Arena to the Kia Arena after her first round match against Botic van de Zandschulp to watch the end of Boulter's first round victory against Rebecca Marino, while Boulter also watched as her boyfriend he made his way. Francisco Cerundolo on Saturday night.
He and Sinner will go head to head in a mouth-watering showdown on Wednesday.
If De Minaur progresses, he will be one step closer to becoming the first local star to win the Australian Open men's singles for the first time in 49 years. Mark Edmonson was the last to achieve the feat in 1976, when the tournament was still played at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club.
Reflecting on his achievement, De Minaur revealed that he had previously felt as if the “slam had slipped away.”
“I'm super happy, super happy to finally achieve that milestone here at the Australian Open,” De Minaur said of finally reaching the quarterfinals, this being his eighth main draw appearance in Melbourne.
'It feels like the slam that kept slipping away where I felt like I had a little bit of a barrier in the fourth round.
“So it feels really good to finally pass another milestone in my career.”
More to follow…