Alex de Minaur blows away Vasek Pospisil to reach US Open quarter-final

Australia’s Alex de Minaur is through to a grand slam quarter-final for the first time in his career after a comprehensive 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Vasek Popisil.

Both players were coming off five-set victories in the third round, and it looked like they could be set for another marathon when the first set went to a tiebreak.

The 21-year-old edged it 8-6 after trailing 2-6 at one point, and that was as close as Popisil got to controlling the match. De Minaur won the next two sets thanks to a solid serve but he was helped by his opponent: Popisil doubled faulted six times and hit 48 unforced errors compared to the Australian’s 13.

“The first serve was crucial, with some things going his way and then my way,” said De Minaur after the match. “I went 2-6 down, but didn’t think I played a bad tiebreak and tried to stay calm. I’m just so happy with the way I played to beat Vasek. He is very tricky and aggressive. I tried to stay calm and kept running.”

De Minaur may face another Canadian in the quarter-finals. He will play the winner of the match between Félix Auger-Aliassime and the No2 seed, Austria’s Dominic Thiem. The pair are due to play each other in the afternoon session at Flushing Meadows.