MY ACCOUNT
Alex de Minaur booked his place in the Atlanta Open final with a come-from-behind 5-7 6-2 6-2 win against Ilya Ivashka on Saturday.
It was a tight first set, which was interrupted at 5-5 by a three-hour rain delay. Upon returning, Ivashka broke instantly and served out the set – but it would be his last break of serve.
De Minaur had to save two break points to hold in the opening game of the second set, but from that point on he took over, collecting two breaks in the frame.
The Australian, who is the tournament’s third seed and ranked 30th in the world, controlled the decider, winning 69 per cent of his points on serve compared to 50 per cent for Ivashka as he figured out the Belarusian’s serve, allowing no aces down the stretch.
He will meet Jenson Brooksby in the final after the American put on an impressive showing against compatriot Frances Tiafoe, winning 6-1 6-4.
Brooksby has been in great touch this tournament, running over Mackenzie McDonald in the quarter-final in what was meant to be a competitive matchup, and then upsetting second seed John Isner in the semi-final, breaking his incredibly tough serve three times.
Against Tiafoe, the story was about how dominant Brooksby was early on when he got the chance to see a second serve, winning 87 per cent (11-of-14) of the points off Tiafoe’s second serve in the opening set.
Tiafoe never really got a chance to fight back in the second frame, getting broken in the opening game, and from there Brooksby closed the door, not allowing a single break point opportunity.
