Australiaโs young tennis star
Alex de Minaur has joined an
elite list of players after his recent heroics.
The 24-year-old defeated the former world number one Britainโs
Andy Murray in the round of 32 clash of the China Open with a score of 6-3, 5-7,
7-6 on Thursday.
Following that victory, De Minaur will become the only fourth
player in the history of menโs singles tennis to beat Britainโs tennis star
five times in a row.
The other three players are current world number one Serbiaโs
Novak Djokovic, former world number one Switzerlandโs Roger Federer and 22-time
Grand Slam winner Spainโs Rafael Nadal.
De Minaur will now face the winner of the match between Americaโs
Tommy Paul and Russiaโs Daniil Medvedev.
The victory will be a major boost for the Sydney-born who
has had a tough year while competing at the highest level.
De Minaur played in all four Grand Slams but failed to
qualify in the quarterfinal or beyond in any of the competitions.
His most notable
outing came in the Australian Open and the US Open where he was knocked out
after losing the fourth-round tie.