Novak Djokovic call vindicated as Alex de Minaur survives scare to win Aus Open thriller

De Minaur's win came after a big prediction from the 24-time major winner.

Novak Djokovic's prediction that Alex de Minaur was primed for "great things" at the Australian Open has been vindicated after the local hope came through a tense third round clash on Saturday. De Minaur's hopes of going on a deep run at Melbourne Park are still alive after the 25-year-old came from behind to defeat Argentina's World No.31 Francisco Cerundolo 5-7 7-6 (3) 6-3 6-3

De Minaur predicted it would be a "battle" against his first seeded opponent and so it proved as the Aussie dropped his first set this tournament in a rollercoaster opening stanza. The World No.8 was up 5-4 and serving for the first set but failed to capitalise as Cerundolo took advantage of a number of double faults from de Minaur to fight back and claim the opening set.

Pictured left to right, Alex de Minaur and Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.
Alex de Minaur won his third round clash at the Australian Open after a big call from Novak Djokovic. Pic: Getty

Australia's eighth seed got back on level terms after edging a hard-fought second set in a tiebreak, and both players traded breaks in the third before de Minaur prevailed as Cerundolo tightened up with cramp. The Aussie showed his ridiculous court coverage to help snatch a crucial break and go up 5-3 in the fourth, before breaking his opponent again to wrap up the four-set victory.

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The eighth seed got past got past Dutch dangerman Botic van de Zandschulp in a tough opening round encounter, before cruising past American qualifier Tristan Boyer in a much more straightforward second round victory. But he knew it would be a much more difficult encounter against Cerundolo on Saturday afternoon, following the Argentinian's big wins over top-10 stars Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev in a breakout 2024.

"He's a very dangerous player, very tricky. He's got a lot firepower from the baseline with that forehand," de Minaur said before the match. "He's had some big scalps on tour. He's not afraid to play some big matches. It's going to be a battle. I'm looking forward to it.

"It's going to be a really tough one. I've got to be up for it from the very first point, bring that intensity, play some aggressive style of tennis, bring out a better version of myself, which I think I'm doing every day." De Minaur's win saw him book a place in the second week at Melbourne Park for a fourth straight year as he hopes to make it to the last-eight of his home slam for the first time.

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De Minaur has made a noticeable improvement on his serve over the last year and has spoken about how it enables him to dictate points better on his own racquet. But a series of double faults let the Aussie down early on against Cerundolo, with three in the opening game handing Cerundolo a huge leg up. The Aussie has also showed a greater willingness to come to the net and go on the attack against his opponents, which has gone a long way to explain his rise to World No.8.

Seen here, Alex de Minaur playing in the third round of the Australian Open.
Alex de Minaur won through to the fourth round of the Australian Open with a four-set win on Saturday. Pic: Getty

24-time major winner Djokovic - who eased into the fourth round with a comfortable 6-1 6-4 6-4 win over Tomas Machac on Friday night - identified de Minaur's serve as his biggest area of improvement. And the 10-time champion gave home fans reasons to dream after predicting "great things" from the 25-year-old for the rest of the tournament.

“Terrific improvement," Djokovic said about de Minaur's game. “I think his serve became a big weapon, maybe it wasn’t before. He was always fast, so he kept that, I mean, that speed on the court, I think he’s coming into, like, he’s approaching much more than he used to do.

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"We all know how good he’s defending, but his offence has improved a lot, his court positioning has improved. You know, it’s not a surprise that he ended up top ten last season in his best season yet. So I think we’re going to still see great things from Alex in this tournament. I have watched him play a few matches, and the level is great... he’s got the crowd behind him, he’s playing really well.”

De Minaur was far from his best against Cerundolo but thankfully Djokovic's big prediction about the Aussie came to fruition as the Aussie booked a fourth round showdown against American giant-killer Alex Michelsen, who upset Russian World No.19 Karen Khachanov 6-3 7-6 (5) 6-2 earlier on Saturday. Michelsen also knocked out Greek 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a first round boilover.

with AAP