There won’t be a rematch of the recent Mutua Madrid Open at any point during the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. That’s because both Andrey Rublev (the Madrid champion) and Felix Auger-Aliassime (runner-up) crashed out of Rome on Monday.
Each match was a three-setter, but that’s where the similarities end. Alex de Minaur needed exactly three hours to outlast Auger-Aliassime 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4, while Alexandre Muller upset Rublev in one hour and 49 minutes.
Muller, a 27-year-old Frenchman, stopped Rublev’s winning streak at seven matches.
“It’s amazing,” Muller commented. “I didn’t expect to win against Andrey today. I knew I had my chance, but it is special to win against a top-10 player–my first win against a top 10-player today, so I’m very happy.”
De Minaur gave back a break early in the third set against Auger-Aliassime, but the Aussie regained his lead at 4-4 thanks to a double-fault on break point by FAA. De Minaur served out the match one game later.
“I think Felix is a very good player on the clay,” the world No. 11 praised. “He had a lot of confidence coming in, so I’m very happy how I stayed in the match at all stages. I was positive, no matter what came my way. I could have had a double break in the third to maybe secure the match. I didn’t get it, ended up getting broken, and I managed to compose myself so I’m very happy with that.”
Next up for De Minaur is Stefanos Tsitsipas, who defeated Cameron Norrie in straight sets. The entire men’s fourth round will be played on Tuesday.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.