Alex de Minaur reflects on tough win over Reilly Opelka

Rising Australian star Alex de Minaur was happy to survive a tricky Sydney International round-of-16 clash against fellow rising star Reilly Opelka. De Minaur, ranked at No. 29 in the world, handed a 6-4 7-6 (5) loss to the 21-year-old qualifier to reach the Sydney quarter-final.

The Australian and the American started their match on Tuesday night but the match was suspended after just one game played due to a heavy rain. The Australian held on to his serve on Wednesday after breaking world No. 102 Opelka in the opening game of the match to clinch the first set.

The match appeared to be heading for a decider as Opelka was 5-2 up in the tie-break but de Minaur refused to give up as he won five points in a row to seal the win. I think I got lucky today. Reillys an incredibly tough opponent, de Minaur said post-match, per the AAP.

I took care of my chances. I would have loved to get the break in the second. I had a couple of chances, but I did well to focus on my serve and Im glad things went my way today. De Minaur fell just short of winning his maiden ATP title in Sydney last year as he ended runner-up to Daniil Medvedev in the final.

Theres nothing better than this. I love playing here. I love playing at home, loving playing in front of you guys and I cant wait to just keep it going, de Minaur claimed. De Minaur will be fighting against Sydneysider Jordan Thompson for a place in the semi-final.

Also read: Thanasi Kokkinakis extremely motivated to do well at Melbourne Park