Alex de Minaur admits he’s a man on a mission after showcasing his new-found firepower to blast his way into the US Open’s last 16 in New York.
Australia’s world No.13 ruthlessly dismantled seeded Chilean Nicolas Jarry 6-1 6-3 6-2 to join Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata in the fourth round.
So often derided for lacking the weapons to go deep at the grand slams, de Minaur turned baseline boss to overwhelm the 25th-ranked Jarry in just one hour and 44 minutes on Saturday.
He broke the South American six times, saved the solitary break point on his own serve and won a staggering 85 percent of points after landing his first delivery.
Tellingly, de Minaur punished Jarry almost every time he missed a first serve, winning 19 of 27 points on the Chilean’s second delivery.
“I’m extremely happy again. I had a mission to accomplish,” he said.
“I stuck to my game plan. I executed and I did everything I wanted to. It was a great day at the office and there is lots to be proud of.
“Obviously the game plan against someone like Jerry, who’s got such big weapons, is to try to neutralise him and try to find the a healthy balance between kind of pushing the ball and still being somewhat aggressive without missing.
“I think I found that line today. And it was great just to keep applying that pressure. If he wanted to win, he was going to have to come up with some some amazing winners and it didn’t discourage me.
“I just kept on playing the next point and did it all over again.”
His reward is a sixth second-week foray at the majors, his third at Flushing Meadows in the past five years and a likely last-16 shot at third-seeded 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev.
Medvedev plays his third-round match later Saturday against Argentina’s world No.32 Sebastian Baez.
De Minaur has beaten Medvedev twice in the past 10 months, including last month in straight sets en route to his maiden appearance in an ATP Masters 1000 final in Toronto.
That victory was de Minaur’s fourth over a top-10 rival this season and, if they do clash, the 24-year-old will fancy his chances of posting another upset on Tuesday (AEST) to match his run to the 2020 quarter-finals in New York.
De Minaur’s two previous encounters with Jarry produced four tiebreakers.
But he broke Jarry’s big serve in the opening game on Saturday to set the tone for a far more one-sided affair.
Giving his opponent nothing, de Minaur offered up a miserly 10 unforced errors in the entire match while drawing 40 from Jarry.
Asked if he was a man on a mission, de Minaur said: “Look, I’m in a good headspace. I’ve got very clear thoughts in my mind once I’m on the tennis court”.
“I know what I want to accomplish, what I want to do and and it’s always great when you can execute as well.
“I think what I’m bringing is the kind of energy and intensity from the first point till the last and and it’s been showing because it’s been really helpful to keep my level throughout the whole match.”
Hijikata plays his fourth-round match on Monday (AEST) against American 10th seed Frances Tiafoe.