It was a case of sweet revenge for Alex de Minaur in the second round of the US Open after he knocked out Cristian Garin in four sets.
The 18th seed was largely in control throughout his 6-3, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2, win over his Chilean opponent that lasted just over two-and-a-half hours. De Minaur, who won his sixth Tour title in Atlanta during the summer, hit a total of 22 winners and broke Garin seven times en route to victory. He now leads their head-to-head 4-1.
“I’m very happy with my level, but more than my level on court, I’m probably the happiest with how I was mentally. That, for me, was very important coming into the match and how I dealt with the circumstances.” The world No.20 said during his press conference.
It was against Garin where de Minaur suffered one of the most heartbreaking losses of his career. Earlier this year at Wimbledon, he was leading their match by two sets to love before losing in five. If he had won he would have reached the quarter-finals at SW19 for the first time and played compatriot Nick Kyrgios.
So what was the key to de Minaur’s revenge win? When asked by a reporter, he said it was the mental side of his game that was the most important factor.
“I think any time you lose a match from two sets to love up and having so many chances and opportunities, I wouldn’t say it’s something that tactically you’ve got to change,” he explains.
“I think the only thing you’ve got to look at the mental part of the things because you know, if you’re good enough to be two sets to love up and chances to finish it off, then you’re good enough to kind of finish it off.’
“So for my the biggest change was mentally I was prepared for anything. I tried to stay as calm as I could. When things didn’t go my way in the third set, I just regrouped and went at it again for the fourth set.”
The 23-year-old has now won 26 main draw matches at Grand Slam tournaments with 10 of those occurring at the US Open. He has experienced mixed results at Flushing Meadows with a career-best run to the quarter-finals in 2020 followed by a first round exit a year later.
De Minaur will have his work cut out in the third round when he plays Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta. A two-time US Open semi-finalist who recently won his maiden Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open. Carreno Busta defeated Alexander Bublik 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5) in his second round match.
“I’m looking forward to it,” de Minaur said of playing the Spaniard. “The third round of the US Open playing against a quality opponent who’s proven himself here. I’m just hopefully ready for the battle and I’m looking forward to it.”
In their only previous meeting at the 2019 French Open de Minaur lost Carreno Busta in straight sets.
