Immediately, Rublev is under pressure, down 15-40, but he saves the first with a trademark forehand then, De Minaaur, coming in, nets a forehand putaway. Right play, wrong execution, and Rublev eventually holds for 1-0.
In our preview of the men’s competition, this is what we said about De Minaur as our home player to watch:
Perhaps the fastest player ever, De Minaur has matured of late, adding patience, aggression and variety to his game. He’s still hamstrung by a forehand grip that restricts his ability to hit hard while telegraphing some of his shots, but already this year, he’s beaten Djokovic, Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev.