Alex de Minaur will compete in the last 32 at the Miami Open. The top-ranked Aussie defeatedYunchaokete Bu 6-4, 6-4 in the second round, arranging the third-round clash with the upcoming star Joao Fonseca.
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Alex provided ten comfortable holds, dropping eight points and offering his rival no chances. Bu felt the pressure and cracked under it in the closing stages of both sets despite a solid resistance.
The Chinese struggled a bit on the second serve, facing five break points and losing serve in the tenth game of each set.
Alex tamed his strokes superbly and finished the duel with 24 winners and 13 unforced errors.Yunchaokete landed 13 direct pointsand collected 22 mistakes, missing equally from both wings. Bu forged a 23-16 buffer in service winners and took four points more at the net.
However, the 10th seed ruled the baseline! Alex outplayed his rival 43-19 and secured the victory in that segment. De Minaur had the upper hand in the shortest and most extended exchanges, playing well and gathering confidence ahead of the challenging clash with Fonseca.
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The lower-ranked player made a reliable start. He closed the second game with a service winner and cracked an ace in the fourth to lock the result at 2-2. Alex clinched the fifth game with a powerful serve, andYunchaokete mirrored that a few minutes later for 3-3.
The Chinese claimed an extended rally in the eighth game for 4-4 and more drama. The 10th seed moved 5-4 up with a service winner and made the first push on the return in the next one. Bu netted a forehand in the tenth game and faced three set points.
The Aussie painted a backhand down the line winner on the second, delivering a crucial break and wrapping up the opener 6-4 in 38 minutes. Alex lost one point in five service games of the second set, mounting the pressure on the other side.
Yunchaokete denied a break point in the second game with a service winner and held after deuces for 1-1. Bu survived more deuces in the fourth game and brought it home to remain on the positive side. Alex hit an unreturned serve in the fifth game for his third straight hold at love.
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The Chinese followed the rival's pace with comfortable holds in games six and eight. He fired a service winner at 3-4 for a hold at 15, sending the pressure to the other side. However, de Minaur felt none of it! The Aussie closed the ninth game with a forehand winner.
Alex stepped in on the return at 5-4 and drew the rival's mistake for two match points. He seized the second with a forehand attack, causing Bu's error and sealing the deal in straight sets.
