“That was incredible!”

“Thanks, Lleyton.”

On Wednesday night, Alex de Minaur earned his most important victory as a professional so far by defeating Milos Raonic, 6-4, 6-4, in the second round of Brisbane International presented by Suncorp. In the tunnel between the changing rooms and the court, de Minaur was congratulated by Australian legend Lleyton Hewitt, who plays an advisory role in steering de Minaur through the early stages of his career.

By defeating Raonic, the 2016 champion in Brisbane and this year’s fourth seed, de Minaur earned a spot in the quarter-finals and improved on his previous best showing (Round of 32 in 2017). This year, de Minaur is in a different position.

“I’ve improved a lot of aspects of my game,” the Australian told ATPWorldTour.com following his win over Raonic at Pat Rafter Arena. “I’m in better shape, both physically and mentally. Obviously, that helps me a lot on the court. It gives me a lot of confidence to know that I can play against the likes of Raonic and be competitive.”

De Minaur lifted his game at key moments throughout the match. The #NextGenATP rising star nullified Raonic’s powerful serves and fed off the support of an enthusiastic crowd that was eager to see their countryman win. De Minaur, for his part, showed poise and always gave fans reason to believe he could upset Raonic, even when matters got complicated.

“At the end of the day, you have to be convinced you can win once you step on the court,” de Minaur said. “If I don’t believe I can win, then I should just stay home. What’s the point in playing if I don’t think I can win? Of course I had my doubts. Only a small bit of me believed I could actually beat [Raonic], honestly, but that was all I needed. I tried to enjoy myself on the court and give the fans that came to support me a good time. That’s what I do, and it’s working so far.”

Born in Sydney to a Uruguayan father and Spanish mother, de Minaur spent the first years of his life in Spain. At a young age, de Minaur returned with his parents to Sydney when they opened a restaurant, in addition to a car wash they previously owned in the Australian city. Soon after, de Minaur took up tennis and, with the help of the Australian Tennis Federation, eventually made the leap into the professional ranks.

Of all the support de Minaur has received in Australia, it’s been Hewitt who has provided his expert vision and guidance in grooming de Minaur as he started his career. Hewitt was courtside for de Minaur’s first two matches in Brisbane.

“It means a lot to me that he’s there to give me advice,” de Minaur said of the former World No. 1. “He has a lot of faith in me and that I have the game to compete with the best in the world. One of the first things he told me was to believe in myself. It helps to have him in my corner in situations like [the Raonic match]; he breaks down how to deal with the pressure and the expectations.”

De Minaur also expressed his gratitude to his coach, Adolfo Gutierrez, who has been a key player in the Australian’s progress as a player. The pair currently train in Alicante, Spain.

“Having Adolfo Gutierrez, with whom I have been working for almost eight years, is very important for me,” De Minaur said of the Spanish coach. “He knows both sides of me, on and off the court. For that reason, I’m happy to experience this with him, and that we’re realising the best victories of my career together.”

The first weeks of 2017 were a dream come true for de Minaur: He battled through qualifiers in Brisbane and played his first main draw match at an ATP World Tour event (l. Alexander Zverev). A week later, he earned his first ATP World Tour win by defeating Benoit Paire at the Sydney International.

Finally, de Minaur made the perfect Grand Slam debut by saving a match point and storming back to defeat Gerald Melzer in five sets during the first round of the Australian Open, winning the hearts of Australian fans in the process.

With a place in the quarter-finals in Brisbane and a promising 2018 ahead, de Minaur has no plans to slow down; the goal is to reach his full potential.

In 2017, Dominic Thiem reached five semi-finals, all of them on clay. But less than a week into the 2018 season, the World No. 5 has already reached a hard-court semi-final.

The top-seeded Thiem halted the run of #NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas on Thursday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha 7-5, 6-4 to advance to his first outdoor hard-court semi-final since February 2016 in Acapulco, where he won the ATP World Tour 500 title (d. Tomic). Thiem also advanced to the semi-finals of the indoor Moselle Open in Metz in September 2016.

Thiem hit big all match and took time away from the 6’4” Tsitsipas, who reached his second ATP World Tour quarter-final by beating French veteran Richard Gasquet in straight sets on Wednesday.

The World No. 5 Thiem hit 33 winners and was successful during 10 of his 12 net attempts. He also won nearly 60 per cent of his second-serve return points (16/27).

“I was serving well again today and returning well. That’s what I was working on in the off-season so it already pays off now,” Thiem said on court after the match.

He walked away impressed with Tsitsipas. The 19-year-old Greek, who was the youngest Doha quarter-finalist since 2006 runner-up Gael Monfils, has now reached consecutive ATP World Tour quarter-finals, dating back to his semi-final run at the European Open in Antwerp last October.

“He’s already so good at a young age. I think he’s going to be for sure a top player in the near future,” Thiem said. “He’s playing very well, aggressive with a good service, nice one-handed backhand.” 

The Austrian will next face Monfils, who saved a set point in the second set to beat German Peter Gojowczyk 6-3, 7-6(6). Monfils last reached a semi-final in June 2017 at the International Eastbourne. The Frenchman is playing in his first tournament since 2017 US Open. Thiem leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 3-0.

Andrey Rublev, another #NextGenATP star, had better luck during his quarter-final match. The 20-year-old Russian, who was runner-up at last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals, beat Croatia’s Borna Coric for the second time in as many matches 6-3, 7-5 to reach the third semi-final of his career (also 2016 Umag, 2016 Milan).

Rublev was down a break, 2-4, in the second set, but rallied to advance in straight sets. The 20-year-old Moscow native also beat Coric in the semi-finals of the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

“I was feeling the ball well. I knew since the beginning of the match that I have to try to dictate the point. I have to try to attack. I have to try to lead, but I have to try to do it with a good position. That was the key,” Rublev said.

Rublev will next face Argentina’s Guido Pella, who saved both break points faced and dismissed qualifier Mirza Basic of Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-2, 6-3. Pella, No. 64 in the ATP Rankings, will look to reach his third ATP World Tour final (2017 Munich, 2016 Rio de Janeiro).

Kei Nishikori will return to professional tennis in January, but not at the season’s first Grand Slam in Melbourne.

Nishikori has withdrawn from the Australian Open, but the former World No. 4 is planning on launching his comeback at the inaugural ATP Challenger Tour event at the Newport Beach Tennis Club in Newport Beach, U.S.A, to be held 20-28 January.

The tournament is part of the inaugural Oracle Challenger Series, which also will include a Challenger event from 24 February – 4 March in Indian Wells, in the lead up to the BNP Paribas Open, the season’s first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament. Both tournaments will feature $150,000 prize money.

“I am very excited and looking forward to getting back on the court in January,” Nishikori said. “The Oracle Challenger Series is a perfect event in a great Southern California location to help me get some match play. This will be a great opportunity to face some high-level competition.”

The 28-year-old Nishikori also plans to compete at the $125,000 Challenger in Dallas, U.S.A. The RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas will take place from 29 January – 4 February.

Nishikori, 28, hasn’t played since 9 August, when he fell to Gael Monfils at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal. The Japanese star had to cut short his 2017 season because of an injury to his right wrist. He is currently No. 22 in the ATP Rankings.

World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov kept hopes of retaining his Brisbane International presented by Suncorp title alive by saving two match points on his way to a 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-3 win over John Millman on Thursday night.

The Bulgarian star saved match point at 5/6 and 6/7 in the second-set tie-break en route to extending his winning streak to six matches, which includes a title-run at the Nitto ATP Finals in November 2017. Dimitrov, reflecting on the two points, complimented Millman’s level while expressing delight at his great, instinctive play.

“He couldn’t have played the ball better,” said Dimitrov. “But also, at the same time, I thought I couldn’t have done anything else besides what I did. I think two of the shots in the first match point were pure instinct for me. So I’m pleased with it.”

Dimitrov, who has now reached the quarter-finals five times on his six appearances at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament beat World No. 128 Millman over two hours and 38 minutes. He will next play Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund in the quarter-finals on Friday.

The reigning champion, well aware of how close he came to a season-opening defeat, was quick to praise Millman who twice found himself just one point away from defeating his first Top 10 opponent in the ATP Rankings.

“I’ve seen him play quite a few times out here, playing really aggressive, striking the ball amazing, and it was no less tonight,” said Dimitrov. “I’m the winner today but he put himself in that position to win the match.

“I’m just very pleased [with] the way I played on those key points and especially on the match points. So I think that gives me a certain amount of confidence coming into any other match that I have to play now.”

After exchanging early breaks in the first set, Millman’s continued pressure on the Dimitrov serve paid off at the tail-end of the opener. The 28-year-old managed to win almost half of all points (23/48) on the Bulgarian’s serve and in the 10th game, a second breakthrough came for Millman who took the set 6-4.

A dramatic second set followed with both men breaking serve before reaching a tie-break and it was there that Millman manufactured two match points for the biggest win of his career. But the four-time 2017 titlist on the ATP World Tour was not to be denied, saving the first in an epic rally at the net and a second with an aggressive forehand into the corner. But Millman had no regrets on his strategy, complimenting his rival’s level for the epic match point save.

“I went for a body serve. Maybe I should have gone for an ace. Who knows? Hindsight is a great thing,” said Millman.“I made him play five, six backhands, then he’s come in and he’s played a volley that’s taken out nearly both lines. I managed to get him to play another volley, and he played another volley back the other way. What else can I do on that point?”

Dimitrov would later convert his second set point to win the tie-break and level the match. From that point, the 26-year-old motored through the decider with a break in the fourth game and a near-perfect performance on points behind his first serve (17/18). An emotional Millman reflected on what might have been, had either of the two points gone differently, and what it would have meant for his career.

“I gave it everything,” said Millman. “I can be proud of giving it everything. That’s tennis. You win some, you lose some. It would have really been one of the most special nights of my career if I had won against a player like Grigor in front of my home crowd, who stuck it out well past midnight to watch me play. It would have been one of the highlights of my career.”

Now unbeaten in six matches, Dimitrov will attempt to keep that streak alive in his quarter-final match against Kyle Edmund. The British No. 2 defeated #NextGenATP champion Hyeon Chung 7-6(3), 5-7 6-4 earlier in the day.

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Top seed Marin Cilic barely put a foot wrong on Thursday to advance to the Tata Open Maharashtra semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over eighth-seeded Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert in 64 minutes. The Croatian lost just one of his first service points (23/24) and struck seven aces as he continued his bid to win a third title on Indian soil, following victories in 2009 and 2010, when the ATP World Tour 250 tournament was held in Chennai.

Cilic will next challenge France’s Gilles Simon, who was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Spanish qualifier Ricardo Ojeda Lara. In other action today, second-seeded South African Kevin Anderson meets Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan, whilst fifth-seeded Dutchman Robin Haase takes on fourth seed and wild card Benoit Paire of France.

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