De Minaur reaches US Open quarter-finals after downing Thompson

Alex de Minaur overcame Jordan Thompson in a tense four-set affair at the US Open in New York on Monday night, with the 10th seed beating his compatriot 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the round of 16.

The win means de Minaur has now made three Grand Slam quarter-finals in a row, with the 25-year-old also reaching the last eight at the French Open and Wimbledon this year.

He is the first Australian to do so since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004.

“It’s just the mentality,” de Minaur said when asked what gave him an edge over Thompson.

“Positive mindset no matter what.

“Try to play every point, try to win every point.

“Just as always, compete my heart out.”

Tennis bookmakers now have de Minaur on the sixth line of betting to win the US Open, with the world No.10 paying +1600.

Following his victory, de Minaur also shared about how his attitude towards tennis has been shifting.

“I’m doing my best because in the past, almost my happiness depended on my tennis results,” he explained.

“Now, I’m trying to do my best to trust the progress, trust the journey.

“I’m doing my best, I’m trying to get better, I’m trying to find happiness outside of just wins and losses.

“It’s helped me a lot so far.

“But I’m sure as hell a lot happier when I win tennis matches.”

De Minaur is having a career-best year, cracking the world’s top 10 for the first time and unlocking a new level of consistency at the majors.

Thompson is also having his strongest year, with the 30-year-old up to a career high of No.29 in the world following his round-of-16 run in New York.

With Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic — two of the US Open’s top three seeds — exiting the tournament early, de Minaur now has a golden opportunity to make his deepest run at a Grand Slam.

Up next for the Sydneysider is No.25 seed Jack Draper.

De Minaur holds a 3-0 advantage over the Brit, having beaten him earlier this year in Acapulco.

Tennis betting sites put the Aussie as a -138.89 favourite to win their quarter-final, with Draper paying +110.

Win, and de Minaur will be into the last four of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.

In the semi-finals, he would face either Alexander Zverev or Taylor Fritz.

Bookmaker Bovada has Zverev slated as a -175.44 favourite for that quarter-final clash, with local hope Fritz at +140.

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