Sofia, Bulgaria, 12 November 2020 | Leigh Rogers

Australians Alex de Minaur and John Millman are into the final eight at the Sofia Open.

The third-seeded De Minaur booked his quarterfinal spot with a 6-4 7-6(5) win against Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev.

The 21-year-old showed his fighting spirit, recovering from a 3-5 deficit in the second set and saving two set points.

“I’m obviously very happy with the win today against a very, very tough opponent,” De Minaur told ATPTour.com. “It was an incredibly tricky match and I’m very happy I was able to get the win.”

De Minaur faces No.44-ranked Italian Jannik Sinner next. It is a rematch of last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals championship match, which Sinner won.

Earlier in the day, Millman wore down No.62-ranked Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-5 6-7(3) 6-2 in a second-round battle that lasted three hours and 15 minutes.

Marathon match in Sofia! @johnhmillman comes out on top in a brutal encounter with Gilles Simon 7-5 6-7 6-2 in 3 hrs 15 mins. @sofiaopentennis pic.twitter.com/Q0u9ZQ2tz8

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 11, 2020

“I feel tired now,” said Millman told ATPTour.com after his match.

“I’ve played with Gilles in Sydney before and hit with him a lot. He is so physical and hard to hit winners against. You know you’re going to be in a bit of a war against him. Gilles uses pace so well and you need to be patient.”

Millman had two match points in the second set, but could not convert. However, the world No.38-ranked Australian finished strongly to set up a quarterfinal showdown with Canadian Vasek Pospisil.

The No.74-ranked Pospisil won their only previous meeting during last year’s Davis Cup Finals in Madrid.

Results:

Men’s singles, second round
[3] Alex de Minaur (AUS) d [Q] Aslan Karatsev (RUS) 6-4 7-6(5)
[6] John Millman (AUS) d [Q] Gilles Simon (FRA) 7-5 6-7(3) 6-2

Men’s doubles, first round
Tomislav Brkic (BIH)/Marin Cilic (CRO) d [3] Max Purcell (AUS)/Luke Saville (AUS) 7-6(4) 6-2
Radu Albot (MDA)/Artem Sitak (NZL) d Alex de Minaur (AUS)/David Vega Hernandez (ESP) 3-6 7-6(4) [11-9]

Coming up:

Men’s singles, quarterfinals
[3] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Jannik Sinner (ITA)
[6] John Millman (AUS) v Vasek Pospisil (CAN)