Alex de Minaur beat American Learner Tien 6-4 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the Vienna Open and keep his push for a place at the ATP Finals in Turin on track.
The Australian fifth seed won in 78 minutes on Centre Court on Wednesday night, Vienna time, ATP Tour results show.
De Minaur won 70 per cent of points on his serve and converted four of seven break points, AAP reported. He made 18 unforced errors to Tien’s 39.
How the match was won
De Minaur broke Tien in the seventh game of the first set after a 24-shot rally, then held to love to close out the set.
He broke again in the opening game of the second set and never looked back, a sharp improvement on his opening match, when he dropped the first set 6-1 to qualifier Tomas Machac before winning 1-6 6-4 6-3.
Read more: Alex de Minaur Beats Rei Sakamoto at Shanghai Masters
The race to Turin
De Minaur sits 10th in the ATP Live Race to Turin, directly behind Spain’s Rafael Jodar, as he chases a third straight appearance at the season-ending event.
AAP reported that a top-nine finish would be needed because of an injury to Jannik Sinner. Jodar plays Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot for a place in the last 16 at the Swiss Indoors in Basel on Thursday night.
Who’s next
De Minaur will play either fourth seed Flavio Cobolli or Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals. The two Italians meet in the round of 16 on Friday, Australian time.
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Fellow Australian Rinky Hijikata is out of Basel after a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) first-round loss to American Taylor Fritz.
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