Toronto, Canada, 11 August 2023 | Matt Trollope

Toronto, Canada

Alex de Minaur has advanced to his first ever ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal in Toronto, snapping a three-match losing streak against Taylor Fritz in the process.

De Minaur earned a fifth top-10 win of 2023 against the world No.9, after posting a 7-6(7) 4-6 6-1 victory.

He progresses to a quarterfinal meeting with world No.2 Daniil Medvedev.

> Watch the Aussies in Toronto on beIN Sports or TennisTV

Later on Thursday, fellow Aussie Aleksandar Vukic’s impressive run at the tournament ended with a loss to Gael Monfils.

Vukic, a main-draw lucky loser, fell 6-4 6-4 to the resurgent Frenchman, who is through to his first quarterfinal since Australian Open 2022.

Nevertheless, Vukic produced the highlight of the match – winning a point after being sprawled on the court – and is projected to make his top-50 debut next week.

https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/1689784053568770049?s=20

De Minaur saved two set points when trailing 5-1 in the first set, but somehow snatched the opener against a shell-shocked Fritz, who finished the match with 55 unforced errors.

Serving for the match, De Minaur fell behind 0-40 but played five excellent points to end the contest after almost two-and-a-half hours.

The Aussie believed his never-say-die attitude was the decisive factor in this triumph.

“Doesn’t matter what the score is, I’m always going to fight until the end,” said De Minaur, who improves to 8-2 on North American hard courts this summer.

“I thought it was very important for me to stay positive and essentially being able to compete and stay positive got me into that match, and got me playing a great level. I knew even if I’d lost that set, at least I was going to be in the match and playing a lot better.

“It feels great to finally break that (Masters quarterfinal) barrier. I felt like I’ve been close a couple of times, so it’s good to get this win.”

In doubles, Matt Ebden’s partnership with Rohan Bopanna continues to flourish, with the duo winning through to the Toronto quarterfinals.

The Wimbledon semifinalists are now 28-13 this season after beating the tough combination of Jamie Murray and Michael Venus in straight sets.

Also advancing to the quarters was Max Purcell, who continues his impressive week in Canada.

After reaching the second round of singles as a qualifier, Purcell combined with Andrey Rublev to win their second doubles match, beating Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow in two tight tiebreaks.

Purcell, Ebden and De Minaur will play their respective quarterfinals on Friday in Toronto.

Aussies in action – Toronto

RESULTS
Men’s singles, third round
Alex de Minaur (AUS) d [8] Taylor Fritz (USA) 7-6(7) 4-6 6-1
Gael Monfils (FRA) d [LL] Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) 6-4 6-4

Men’s doubles second round
[4] Matt Ebden (AUS)/Rohan Bopanna (IND) d Jamie Murray (GBR)/Michael Venus (NZL) 6-3 6-3
Max Purcell (AUS)/Andrey Rublev d Nathaniel Lammons (USA)/Jackson Withrow (USA) 7-6(5) 7-6(7)

COMING UP
Men’s singles, quarterfinals
Alex de Minaur (AUS) v [2] Daniil Medvedev

Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
[4] Matt Ebden (AUS)/Rohan Bopanna (IND) v [7] Marcel Granollers (ESP)/Horacio Zeballos (ARG)
Max Purcell (AUS)/Andrey Rublev v [3] Rajeev Ram (USA)/Joe Salisbury (GBR)

Book online, play today: Visit play.tennis.com.au to get out on court and have some fun!