Young Aussie Alex De Minaur will aim to pull off a second upset in a row at the Brisbane International when he takes on Canadian world No.24 Milos Raonic in the second round. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 8pm (AEDT).
De Minaur wasn’t supposed to escape the first round when he took on powerful Steve Johnson, but the 18-year-old played the match of his career to overcome the American.
It was easily the biggest win he has ever had at ATP level after he was handed a wildcard into the tournament.
There’s little doubting De Minaur is one of Australia’s brightest young tennis stars, and unlike compatriots Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios, he looks focused and driven to succeed.
He came to Brisbane with good form, having won the Australian Open Wildcard play-off for Australians at the end of 2017, and it showed as he overcame Johnson. In that tournament, he beat Alex Bolt in the final over four sets.
The match against Johnson will have served as a good preparation for taking on Raonic as well, with the Canadian known for having one of the biggest serves in the game.
Given this will be Raonic’s first competitive match of the season, De Minaur’s best chance is to get off to a good start and hope to put his opponent under pressure.
The Canadian slipped in the world rankings during the second half of 2017. After an appearance against Andy Murray in the 2016 Wimbledon final, Raonic had reached No.3 in the world, but he battled with injury last year.
The big-serving Raonic fell out of the top 20 after a quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon, missing the US Open altogether.
Missing the final grand slam of the year only followed a string of poor results though, including losses to Jack Sock and Adrian Mannarino in Washington and Montreal respectively.
He needs to make a strong start to 2018 and get some court time under his belt before heading to Melbourne for the Australian Open. With such a wide open field and plenty of injuries, Raonic ordinarily would have liked his chances, yet, his own battles will have him lacking confidence heading in.
Prediction
De Minaur is rising and will learn a lot from this match, but even without any competitive tennis under the belt, Raonic should be good enough to advance to the quarter-finals pretty easily here.
Raonic in straight sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the Brisbane International from 8pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks for joining me this evening on The Roar for our live coverage of the 2018 Brisbane International as Alex De Minaur went past Milos Raonic in a straight-set boilover. Hopefully you enjoyed the coverage. I'll be live from 10:30am (AEDT) tomorrow with Day 1 of the 5th Ashes Test between Australia and England. Bye for now.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Now, I don't want to put the jinx on De Minaur, but with no Andy Murray in the draw, the bottom half is wide open. Mischa Zverev is out, Milos Raonic is out, so the potential run to the final is 19-year-old American Michael Mmoh in the quarter-final, then either Denis Istomin, Jordan Donaldson or Ryan Harrison in the semi-final - all good players, but if De Minaur can knock over Raonic, anything is possible. Anyway, let's not get ahead of ourselves. What a win for the Aussie.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Well, that was absolutely stunning. Thoughts Roarers?
Scott Pryde
Expert
De Minaur (on the verge of tears out there) "I honestly can't believe it." "It's going to take a while for me to believe what's just happened right now. I'm lost for words." "At the end of the day I was going to come out and compete my hardest. I played an unbelievable match. It's honestly crazy." "The crowd were behind me and got me over the line there." "I tried to change my returning position to try and throw Milos off a bit." "It's a dream come true having him (Lleyon Hewitt) on the sidelines. I can't believe it. I don't know." "It's going to be fun (playing Michael Mmoh). I'm going to go out there like it's another match, compete my hardest and leave it all out there on court." Alex De Minaur 6 6 Milos Raonic 4 4
Scott Pryde
Expert
GAME, SET, MATCH, ALEX DE MINAUR Fault from De Minaur. The second returned on the backhand, then Raonic plays a forehand and sends one long from the baseline. WHAT A WIN! Oh my! That's one of the biggest upsets you are ever likely to see. The 18-year-old Aussie on a wildcard has just knocked off Milos Raonic, a former World No.3, Brisbane International winner and Wimbledon finalist. That's unbelievable. Alex De Minaur 6 6 Milos Raonic 4 4
Scott Pryde
Expert
Fault from De Minaur. The second is at the body and he comes to the net, Raonic's passing shot being hit far too flat on a stretching backhand into the net. Great approach shot. Three match points! De Minaur 6 5 - 40 Raonic 4 4 - 0
Scott Pryde
Expert
Here we go! Raonic with a wide serve, a defensive backhand and the court was open, but Raonic misses with the backhand, swinging it wide. De Minaur 6 5 - 30 Raonic 4 4 - 0
Scott Pryde
Expert
De Minaur serving for it again and that first point is so important. Long rally and Raonic puts a backhand wide, past the sideline there. De Minaur 6 5 - 15 Raonic 4 4 - 0
Scott Pryde
Expert
Raonic holds for love. We will hit the chairs and then De Minaur has another chance to serve for the match. Needs to just clear the head during this change. De Minaur 6 5 - Raonic 4 4 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Raonic with a fault. The second is an ACE down the T. Raonic hitting his stride at the moment. De Minaur 6 5 - 0 Raonic 4 3 - 40
Scott Pryde
Expert
ACE! Raonic catches the centre service line. De Minaur 6 5 - 0 Raonic 4 3 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Raonic with a fault. The second is down the T and returned long on the backhand by De Minaur. His level just appears to have dropped a fraction here. De Minaur 6 5 - 0 Raonic 4 3 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
Raonic gets a break back Another fault here. De Minaur has to defend here, but Raonic goes back in behind a couple of times and he finally has a break of serve. Still down a set and a break to the Aussie. De Minaur 6 5 - Raonic 4 3 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Another look at a second serve for Raonic. He cracks the forehand down the line and De Minaur can't get enough on it. De Minaur 6 5 - Raonic 4 2 - AD
Scott Pryde
Expert
Fault from De Minaur. The second is wide and returned well. De Minaur goes to the backhand side and Raonic puts a ball into the net. Break points saved. De Minaur 6 5 - deuce (1) Raonic 4 2 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
De Minaur saves the first. Longer rally, but De Minaur just thunders up the court and Raonic puts a forehand into the net. De Minaur 6 5 - 30 Raonic 4 2 - 40
Scott Pryde
Expert
Raonic now going for everything. Goes with a backhand return, comes to the net and De Minaur finds the net. Two break back points. De Minaur 6 5 - 15 Raonic 4 2 - 40
Scott Pryde
Expert
A fault from De Minaur now. The second is at the body and Raonic crunches a backhand. De Minaur gets it back in and Raonic hits a volley into the net. De Minaur 6 5 - 15 Raonic 4 2 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Pressure? Nerves? De Minaur gets the first serve in, but then swings a forehand back across the body and it goes long. De Minaur 6 5 - 0 Raonic 4 2 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Fault too start as De Minaur tries to close the match out. The second is returned with a thumping backhand and De Minaur finds the net. De Minaur 6 5 - 0 Raonic 4 2 - 15