The Australian’s energetic counter-punching game will give Dominic Thiem plenty to think about in their quarter-final
How fortunate it is that Alex de Minaur’s almost comically feeble moustache is not the best measure of the Australian’s development since he first played Dominic Thiem three years ago. In the first round of De Minaur’s debut US Open, the 18-year-old scrounged just six games against a heavy-hitting baseliner who had recently reached the Roland Garros semi-finals on his favoured clay.
“He was skinny, super-fast back then already, but now he’s a man, a super-experienced player already,” said Thiem – the second seed and three-time grand slam runner-up – of De Minaur, his quarter-final opponent at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday (Thursday morning AEST). “It’s going to be a different story.”
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