Former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro extended his recent winning streak to six matches as he demolished Australian teenager Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-1 to swiftly move into the third round of the Indian Wells Masters on Sunday.
Del Potro barely broke sweat as he needed only 69 minutes to wrap up victory on Stadium Court 1 against a talented adversary, who was expected to put up a tough fight. However, the Argentine never allowed De Minaur to get in any sort of rhythm, hitting his forehand with fierce power and firing his serve with immense speed and at the right spots.
The sixth seed was off to a flier, racing to a 4-1 lead in the opening set before the 19-year-old reduced the deficit to 2-4 by holding on to his serve in the next game. But, De Minaur couldn’t win a game after that as Del Potro broke his serve once again in the eighth game to close out the set 6-2.
Although, De Minaur raised the level of his game in the second set, Del Potro was up for the challenge as he showed why he could be the man, who could stop World No. 1 Roger Federer from defending his title in the Californian desert this week.
Del Potro continued to attack De Minaur’s serve and reaped the rewards of that sustained pressure as the World No. 141 lost his serve to fall behind 3-1. Despite De Minaur’s spirited efforts, Del Potro went on to claim another break of serve to seal his spot in the round of 64.
The popular Argentinean will next face former World No. 3 David Ferrer, who beat American wildcard Tennys Sandgren in straight sets earlier in the day.
