Australian teen Alex De Minaur made the tennis world take notice in the opening weeks of the season. The 19 year-old (then 18,) stormed to the semi-finals in Brisbane, before reaching the final in Sydney.
Since the Australian swing ended he played sparingly, accepting a wildcard into Indian Wells, then playing Miami and the Irving Challenger.
This week De Minuar has turned his attentions to the clay for the first time this season. Starting the Alicante Challenger as the 4th seed, the Aussie eased past Ricardo Ojeda Lara in straight sets. An unexpectedly close second round win over wildcard Carlos Boluda-Purkiss shows that De Minaur has some work to do in terms of consistency.
However, when faced with a high calibre opponent in the form of former World No.19 Marcel Granollers, De Minaur secured a 6-4, 7-6 win. De Minaur saved three break points and managed the only break of a close opener. Both men traded breaks in the second but De Minaur edged the tiebreak for his first Challenger semi-final appearance of the season.
From the other side of the draw, 2nd seed Marco Cecchinato is in fine form, as the Italian defeated surprise quarter-finalist Gian Marco Maroni 6-4, 6-4. Cecchinato has won eleven of his last twelve matches, which have all come in clay Challengers. That run has seen him claim a title in Santiago, Chile, and reach the semi-finals in Marbella last week.
Cecchinato will face a high calibre opponent in Pablo Andujar, after he defeated Guido Andreozzi 1-6, 6-4, 6-4. All three of the veteran Spaniard’s ATP titles have come on clay with two wins in Casablanca, and another in Gstaad. Andujar has reached other four finals, including the prestigious ATP 500 event in Barcelona in 2015. Andujar defeated clay specialists Fabio Fognini and David Ferrer in that tournament. Andujar is however still coming back from a long-term elbow injury that saw the former World No.32 enter this tournament ranked just No.598
