Determined Alex de Minaur battles to book his place in the fourth round of the Australian Open with gutsy comeback vs Francisco Cerundolo
Share:
Australia's hopes of a local talent winning the Australian Open men's singles for the first time in 49 years were kept alive on Saturday afternoon by a very resilient performance from Alex de Minaur. It was not all plain sailing for the Sydneysider, who sealed a 7-5 6-7 (7-3) 3-6 3-6 comeback victory against world No 31 Francisco Cerundolo in blistering heat at the Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.
![[Katie Boulter watched on from the stands nervously as her beau went down by a set]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/18/07/94235559-14299151-image-a-11_1737185506059.jpg)
It was, perhaps, his toughest test so far this week after he had claimed straight-set victories over Botic van de Zandschuilp and Tristan Boyer, with De Minaur being forced to fight back after going a set down. 'Something you can always count on is that even if I don't play my best I'm going to play to the end,' the Australian said to huge applause from the home fans inside the Rod Laver Arena.
![[Cerundolo asked questions of De Minaur, using his fantastic tennis intelligence to move the Aussie around the court]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/18/07/94235551-14299151-image-a-12_1737185510890.jpg)
De Minaur has been praised this week for showing how cool and composed he can be on the court, with there being plenty of expectations on the World No 8 as Australia's big hope. Today he cut a much more animated figure today. In front of his new fiancee Katie Boulter, he roared as Cerundolo double-faulted to concede a match point and fist bumped towards the corner of the crowd in which his beau and coaching staff were sitting.
![[De Minaur hit back in the second set, winning a tiebreak before going on to seal a 7-5 6-7 (7-3) 3-6 3-6]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/18/07/94235549-14299151-image-a-13_1737185514905.jpg)
It was an outstanding comeback from the Australian, who, reflecting on his injury layoff last year, said: 'The legs are back!'. Alex de Minaur showed his resilience to come back and beat Francisco Cerundolo on Saturday. Katie Boulter watched on from the stands nervously as her beau went down by a set.
![[Cerundolo troubled De Minaur by playing some fantastic drop shots over the net, which forced the Australian forwards off his baseline]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/18/07/94235553-14299151-image-a-14_1737185542921.jpg)
