De Minaur Beats The Heat In ‘Hotlanta’

After beginning his Atlanta Open campaign with an evening win against countryman James Duckworth, Aussie Alex de Minaur played his first match under the hot Georgia sun in Friday’s quarter-finals.

The second seed outlasted French qualifier Adrian Mannarino 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 to book his fourth semi-final showing of the 2022 season. 

“It’s not called Hotlanta for nothing, that’s for sure,” De Minaur said post-match. “It’s definitely a hot one today. I had to absolutely battle, but jeez it feels good to get on top in these types of matches.

“Very proud of myself, very proud of my attitude. I didn’t give in and managed to fight until the end. I’m happy to live another day.”

The 23-year-old survived two tough service games to open the second set, battling through four deuces in the opening game and erasing two break points to lead 2-1. From 3-3, he raced through the finish line by taking the match’s final nine games against a tiring opponent who was playing his fifth match of the week.

De Minaur won the 2019 Atlanta title and will seek his first final of 2022 against Ilya Ivashka on Saturday. Ivaskha also went the distance on Saturday to defeat fifth seed Tommy Paul 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. The 28-year-old is through to his first semi-final of the season and the fifth of his tour-level career.

The bottom half of the Atlanta singles draw features four Americans. Frances Tiafoe is set to take on Brandon Nakashima before six-time champion John Isner faces Jenson Brooksby in the evening session.