Young gun Aussie Alex De Minaur will look to continue his staggering run of form in the biggest match of his career to date when he takes on 19th seed Tomas Berdych in the first round of the Australian Open. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 6:45pm (AEDT).
De Minaur has had an incredible summer. After winning the wildcard play-off for the first grand slam of the year, he was handed a wildcard to both the Brisbane and Sydney Internationals.
Starting the year outside the top 200, he was rated little to no chance of succeeding in either tournament, let alone at the grand slam.
The list of wins he has rattled off is mighty impressive though as he made the semi-finals of Brisbane final in Sydney. Steve Johnson, Milos Raonic, Michael Mmoh, Fernando Verdasco, Damir Dzumhur, Feliciano Lopez and Benoit Paire have all fallen at the hands of De Minaur.
The biggest scalp of those is undoubtedly former Wimbledon finalist Raonic. The way he was able to return serve and turn defence into attack with incredible groundstrokes has made him a player to watch this summer and rates him a chance against Berdych.
Of course, this will be the biggest match of his career. Stepping out under the bright lights of Hisense Arena, the 18-year-old will be under the pump from the get-go.
Berdych is possibly the most talented player on the circuit without a grand slam title, having made four semi-finals and a final (at Wimbledon in 2010) throughout his career.
Now 32 years of age, he has played plenty of big matches in his time, but has dropped off a little since Wimbledon last year, bombing out of the US Open in the second round and having a poor finish to the year.
2018 hasn’t started a great deal better with Berdych being knocked out of the first round in Doha, but he did win the Tie Break Tens exhibition tournament against some of the best in the world, so that has to count for something.
The pair have never faced off before this meeting and the winner will face either Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or Benoit Paire in the second round.
Prediction
De Minaur has been on a giant-killing run and Berdych can’t afford to take him lightly, but there’s a reason Berdych has been near the top of the sport for so many years. He will be stretched, but his experience should allow him to take the win.
Berdych in four sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this first round match at the Australian Open from 6:45pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
Fionn
Guest
Yeah, for sure. He is still young and has plenty of time to bulk up. He actually reminds me of a young Hewitt in terms of his speed, court coverage and willingness to fight and compete for every point. He also has the great attitude of latter career Hewitt already. Good signs. I hope he has a great year and will be following him closely.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Well summed up Fionn, Alex is one for the future. Give him a few years in the gym and I reckon he will get there. The second set was a quality performance.
Fionn
Guest
Steep learning curve for Alex, Scott, but he will be better for the experience. He never threw in the towel and competed all the way until the end, but Berdych is a top flight player, and it really demonstrates to Alex how he needs to improve his power to match the top guys. Well done Berdych, but great to see Alex grow as a player, and a player Australia can be proud of.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks for joining me this evening on The Roar for our live coverage of the 2018 Australian Open as Alex De Minaur's sensational summer came to an end, falling to Tomas Berdych in four sets (sidenote - prediction). Hopefully you enjoyed the call. I'll be back for more Australian Open action on Thursday as I'm covering the Big Bash League tomorrow night, but we will still have plenty of tennis. Alan Nicolea will be here to take you through Nick Kyrgios and Viktor Troicki from 6:45pm (AEDT) before David Holden brings coverage of Daria Gavrilova and Elise Mertens from around 9pm (AEDT). Bye for now.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thoughts on the match Roarers?
Scott Pryde
Expert
Berdych takes on Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the second round.
Scott Pryde
Expert
GAME, SET, MATCH, TOMAS BERDYCH The 19th seed gets the job done. Wide serve, huge forehand back in behind and De Minaur just has no chance of getting that back into play. De Minaur with a good performance really. He took a set, but was simply outpowered, his stomach issues becoming more and more troublesome throughout. Berdych dominated the first set, lost the second and then cruised through the third and fourth. Tomas Berdych 6 3 6 6 Alex De Minaur 3 6 0 1
Scott Pryde
Expert
Fault from Berdych. The second is at the body and returned on the backhand before De Minaur continues to defend from behind the baseline. He puts a backhand long and here is two match points for Berdych. Berdych 6 3 6 5 - 40 De Minaur 3 6 0 1 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
Unreturnable serve down the T. Berdych 6 3 6 5 - 30 De Minaur 3 6 0 1 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
Great stuff from De Minaur. He will play until the last point here. Good forehand, then he gets inside the baseline and hits a backhand the other way. Berdych 6 3 6 5 - 15 De Minaur 3 6 0 1 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
Serve down the T and it's returned long by De Minaur. Berdych 6 3 6 5 - 15 De Minaur 3 6 0 1 - 0
Scott Pryde
Expert
Berdych breaks Great drop shot from Berdych. De Minaur has no chance of getting there and the Czech Republican will serve for the match. Berdych 6 3 6 5 - De Minaur 3 6 0 1 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Berdych has another break point. Up to the net and he puts a forehand away this time. Berdych 6 3 6 4 - AD De Minaur 3 6 0 1 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Wide serve, returned long and De Minaur saves the break point. Berdych 6 3 6 4 - De Minaur 3 6 0 1 - deuce (2)
Scott Pryde
Expert
Berdych with some wonderful work there, side-to-side and then a backhand volley down the line. De Minaur refuses to give up though - he could have had that point finished eight or ten shots earlier. Berdych 6 3 6 4 - AD De Minaur 3 6 0 1 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Good stuff from Berdych. Peppers the corner time and time again there with Berdych putting the forehand volley away. Berdych 6 3 6 4 - De Minaur 3 6 0 1 - deuce (1)
Scott Pryde
Expert
Berdych trying to alleviate the pain off the abdomen region here with a shorter service action. He faults on the first, then Berdych puts a forehand into the net. With every point won, De Minaur is still yelling out, trying to stay in it. Berdych 6 3 6 4 - 30 De Minaur 3 6 0 1 - 40
Scott Pryde
Expert
Down the T this time, but again, just 150km/h. Berdych puts the return into the net. Berdych 6 3 6 4 - 30 De Minaur 3 6 0 1 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
De Minaur is really slow on the first serve. Just 148 km/h that time. Berdych returns it out. Berdych 6 3 6 4 - 30 De Minaur 3 6 0 1 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
De Minaur puts a backhand long this time. Berdych 6 3 6 4 - 30 De Minaur 3 6 0 1 - 0