(Reuters) – Alex de Minaur pulled off a gritty 7-6(7) 7-5 upset of second seed Daniil Medvedev at the Canadian Open on Friday to reach his first semi-final at a Masters 1000 event where he will face Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The speedy Australian fell 5-2 behind in the opener and had to fend off three set points before clinching the first set against the 2021 champion in Toronto.
The 24-year-old De Minaur had to rally from a break down twice in the second set before showing his resilience again thanks to his brilliant return game, sealing victory on the Russian’s seventh double fault.
Up next is a meeting with red-hot Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who swept aside American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4 6-2 earlier on Friday.
Davidovich Fokina holds a 2-1 lead over De Minaur in their head-to-head meetings.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken Ferris)
