Australian young gun Alex de Minaur has tamed Canada’s Vasek Pospisil 7-6(6) 6-3 6-2 at the US Open to ease into his first grand slam quarter-final.
The first Australian to reach the men’s last eight at Flushing Meadows since John Millman in 2018, the 21st seed now awaits the winner of second-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem and Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.
When the US Open started, neither promising 21-year-old de Minaur nor 30-year-old Pospisil – who grabbed more attention in recent weeks as Novak Djokovic’s sidekick in starting a new players association – would have been tipped as a major winner.
But with Djokovic disqualified on Sunday after striking a line judge in the throat with a ball, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal not at Flushing Meadows and Andy Murray suffering an early exit, the chances of de Minaur winning the title have grown.
With the stakes a little higher, the opening set unfolded like the first round of a prize fight with both players probing for openings and neither managing a single break chance.
In the tiebreak it was Pospisil who had looked poised to land the first blow by going up 6-2 but de Minaur sweept the next six points to grab a 1-0 lead.
“That first set was crucial,” said de Minaur.
“I think it was just a couple of things going his way and then my way.
“I went down 6-2 but I don’t think I played a bad tiebreak I was just unlucky here and there.
“I just tried to stay calm, do my thing.”
After that effort the 94th-ranked Canadian could only muster token resistance, with de Minaur securing an early break in the second and third sets and never allowing Pospisil a chance to get back into the match.