Indian Wells, USA, 14 October 2021 | Leigh Rogers
World No.3 Stefanos Tsitsipas has ended the winning run of Alex de Minaur at Indian Wells.
The second-seeded Greek was forced to work hard in their fourth-round clash today, eventually prevailing 6-7(3) 7-6(3) 6-2 in a two-hour and 43-minute battle.
It was an admirable effort from De Minaur, whose relentless retrieving heaped pressure of his higher-ranked opponent throughout the match.
But in the end, Tsitsipas had too many answers and extended his unbeaten win-loss record (at tour-level) to 6-0 against the 22-year-old Australian.
There are still many positives for De Minaur to take from his performance in the Californian desert. He entered the tournament with a single win from his past eight matches, but built valuable momentum in reaching the fourth round. His run included a third-round victory against world No.17 Cristian Garin, his first top-20 win since January.
John Peers is now the last remaining Australian at the tournament.
Peers features in men’s doubles quarterfinal action later today with Slovak partner Filip Polasek. They face top-seeded Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic.
Aussies in action – Indian Wells
RESULTS
Men’s singles, fourth round
[2] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) d [22] Alex de Minaur (AUS) 6-7(3) 7-6(3) 6-2
COMING UP
Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
[7] John Peers (AUS)/Filip Polasek (SVK) v [1] Nikola Mektic (CRO)/Mate Pavic (CRO)