Alex de Minaur delivered a statement performance against Frances Tiafoe in the third round of the Australian Open.
The home hope, seeded sixth at Melbourne Park, beat the American in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 to advance to round four.
De Minaur will play Alexander Bublik next, against whom he is on a two-match losing streak at tour-level events.
With his victory over Tiafoe, de Minaur has achieved something nobody else on the tour has managed in the last five years.
Alex de Minaur reaches fourth round in Melbourne for the fifth straight time
De Minaur has now made the fourth round of the Australian Open for the fifth consecutive year.
He reached the fourth round in 2022, 2023, and 2024, and made the quarterfinals last season before bowing out to eventual champion Jannik Sinner.
The 26-year-old has made it to the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments, but has never advanced to the semifinals.
Now, de Minaur will have the chance to achieve his seventh quarterfinal finish by beating Bublik.
Alex de Minaur explains his growth in confidence on the court
De Minaur has established himself as one of the best players in the world over the past few seasons.
Discussing his confidence in a press conference after beating Tiafoe, he said: “I have been always one to let my tennis do the talking, and I have always found it quite tough to have that confidence if the results aren’t there.
“I know some players have the ability to not be affected by results, but for me, in terms of confidence, it was quite hard for me to really believe in myself unless I got those results.
“As the years have gone on, I have had those results. I mean, last year I had, I don’t know the exact stat, but I had a lot of wins on hard court, and I was kind of a force to be reckoned with throughout the year.
“Obviously, if I want to take the next step, I’ve got to believe that I can do it, right?
“I’m now at a position where I know my game, I know what I want, I know that I don’t want to be one of another number in the draw. And I know that there is a lot of people that don’t think I can do it.
“That’s completely fine, but I’m going to keep on pushing myself with my team and trying to prove those people wrong.
“That’s just going to add some more fire to the belly, and I have not yet achieved what I want to achieve in this sport. So there is still plenty more career to get there.”
De Minaur is currently ranked sixth in the world, which is the highest he has ever been.
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