DistantNews
Support us
🇦🇺 Australia /Sports

De Minaur advances to final 16 at Cincinnati in US Open warm-up event

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Context piece
  • Alex de Minaur defeated Arthur Fery in a rain-affected match at the Cincinnati Open.
  • De Minaur advanced to the round of 16, winning 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) after multiple weather delays.
  • The Australian player expressed satisfaction with finding a way to win despite challenging conditions.

Alex de Minaur has advanced to the round of 16 at the Cincinnati Open, overcoming both his opponent Arthur Fery and persistent rain delays. The fifth-seeded Australian secured a 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) victory in a match that experienced three interruptions due to inclement weather, ultimately lasting two hours and 22 minutes.

I'm happy with the way I found a way. It got tough at the end, probably a little bit harder than it should have been.

— Alex de MinaurReflecting on his challenging match against Arthur Fery.

Fery, who recently reached a career-high ranking of world number 36 after his Wimbledon semifinal run, faced de Minaur in his first match since his improbable Grand Slam performance. The British player had earned a direct entry into the main draw of the ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time. Earlier in the tournament, another Australian, James Duckworth, had also put up a strong challenge against de Minaur before ultimately losing in a tight three-set match.

De Minaur, the world number 8, faced early pressure, saving three break points in his second service game after an initial rain delay. He broke Fery's serve in the 11th game of the first set and held serve to take the set, but the rain returned shortly after. Upon resumption, de Minaur built a commanding 5-1 lead in the second set, but Fery mounted a comeback, leveling the score at 5-5. De Minaur, however, regained his composure to win the tiebreaker and secure the match.

I played a very good match until the last rain delay, and then I had to dig deep. I had to kind of reset and take it one point at a time.

— Alex de MinaurDescribing his strategy during the rain-affected match.

"I'm happy with the way I found a way. It got tough at the end, probably a little bit harder than it should have been," de Minaur commented after the match. "I played a very good match until the last rain delay, and then I had to dig deep. I had to kind of reset and take it one point at a time." He added, "I take confidence out of these types of tough wins, and hopefully every day I feel better and play better." De Minaur is set to face either Jiri Lehecka or Arthur Fils in the next round. Meanwhile, compatriot Rinky Hijikata was eliminated from the tournament.

I take confidence out of these types of tough wins, and hopefully every day I feel better and play better.

— Alex de MinaurExpressing his outlook after securing a difficult victory.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog