“I just wanted to wait for the 19th game - why do it in the first 18,eh?” De Minaur smiled in a post-match interview with Tennis Channel as he pondered his long quest to beat a top-five player.

“I knew it was going to be a tough battle. He’s an incredibly tough opponent. I knew what to expect and I’m glad I played a very tactical match out there.”

Indeed,De Minaur was the more willing to change his game when he needed,and his last-set aggression quite unfazed Medvedev after some earlier chess-like exchanges which ended on several occasions to 30-plus stroke rallies,and,on one occasion,to 43.

But in a battle of two natural counter-punchers,it was De Minaur who dared to more often venture out of his comfort zone,winning 25 points at the net.

“When you’re playing Daniil you’ve got to find a very fine balance between being solid and being aggressive,” De Minaur said. “Obviously,we all know what he can do with his passing shots and with his movement around the court. I just tried to wait for the right ball and just back myself and back my volleys.”

Later,world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz sailed into the third round with a 6-4,6-4 win over Yoshihito Nishioka,blasting 30 winners,while Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime,a 6-7 (6-8),6-4,7-6 (8-6) winner over Swede Mikael Ymer,and Stefanos Tsitsipas,who beat Dan Evans 6-3,6-4,also progressed.

AAP

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