Alex de Minaur marches past Frances Tiafoe and continues Australian Open dream: ‘I want it so bad’ | ATP tour | Tennis

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De Minaur continues Australian Open dream: ‘I want it so bad’

Aussie No. 1 advances to the fourth round for the fifth year in a row
January 23, 2026

Alex de Minaur’s love affair with the Australian Open continued on Friday night as he reached the fourth round for the fifth year in a row.

The No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings dropped serve just once in his 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Frances Tiafoe under the lights of Rod Laver Arena. With the win, De Minaur became only the second Australian man to reach the last 16 at Melbourne Park in five consecutive years, joining former world No. 1 John Newcombe, who achieved the feat eight times in a row between 1969 and 1976.

“In my mind I don’t associate playing in Australia as playing with pressure, I associate it with excitement,” De Minaur said. “Since I was a kid, this is where I wanted to be: in front of a packed crowd. I’m really lucky to be in this position. Yes, it gets stressful sometimes, but that’s only because I want it so bad.”

Hometown hero 🗣️🗣️🗣️@alexdemineur his continues #AO26 campaign with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 win over Tiafoe 💪 @AustraliaOpen pic.twitter.com/SIFG4L4gIF

— ATP tour (@atptour) January 23, 2026

Now one win away from a possible quarter-final showdown with world number 1 Carlos Alcaraz, De Minaur will face Alexander Bublik or Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the fourth round.

“It was a great battle, so a lot of respect for him,” said De Minaur, who improved to 4-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Tiafoe. “I played my best tennis in the tournament for two and a half sets, and he just picked it up when he needed it… I just had to do it. It was quite stressful at the end, but I’m very relieved to get over the line.”