Alex de Minaur sinks Frances Tiafoe in tough three-setter to reach Toronto QFs

Match Report

De Minaur sinks Tiafoe in tough three-setter to reach Toronto QFs

Australian next plays Shelton or Cobolli

Peter Power\Tennis Canada Alex de Minaur in action in Toronto on Sunday. By Sam Jacot

Alex de Minaur remained on track to record 50 tour-level wins in a season for the first time on Sunday at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, where he resisted a mid-match surge from Frances Tiafoe, advancing 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals in Toronto.

De Minaur has fond memories at the ATP Masters 1000 event, having reached the title match in 2023. For an hour, it seemed as if the Australian would make easy work of Tiafoe and advance to the quarter-finals in Canada once again.

However, from a set and a break down, Tiafoe began to land more blows on the forehand to gain a foothold, levelling up on his first set point. With little to separate the two, it was De Minaur who played the more proactive tennis in the big moments. The 26-year-old saved two break points at 3-3 and then gained the crucial break in the ninth game, winning one of the points of the match at 4-4, 40/40, before serving out to triumph after two hours and 24 minutes.

De Minaur has now earned 37 wins in 2025, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The Aussie recorded a career-best 47 wins in 2024 and 2022 and 46 victories in 2023.

"It was never going to be easy and Frances has the ability to turn the switch on whenever he wants, so it is always very tricky to put him away," De Minaur said. "I think I battled him, myself and the conditions and I am happy to sneak away with a win today."

De Minaur is up two spots to sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin after improving to 3-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Tiafoe. The 26-year-old is aiming to make his second appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals.

De Minaur has now won his past seven matches after winning the title at the ATP 500 event in Washington last week. Seeking his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown, the No. 8 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will next meet Ben Shelton or Flavio Cobolli.

Tiafoe was seeking his first Top 10 win of the season. The seventh seed won three setters against Yosuke Watanuki and Aleksandar Vukic but was unable to prevail in three against De Minaur.

Did You Know?

De Minaur has levelled Patrick Rafter for the second most tour-level hard-court wins among Australian men in the Open Era (212). Lleyton Hewitt leads the way on 372.

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