De Minaur bows out after five-set epic
Home hope Alex de Minaur is out of the Australian Open after losing a five-set thriller to Russia’s Andrey Rublev after more than four hours on court.
Cheered on by British girlfriend Katie Boulter, No.10 seed De Minaur took a two-sets-to-one lead, but Rublev, the No.5 seed who holds a 0-9 record in slam quarter-finals, hit back to win 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-0.
The Russian will play No.4 seed Jannik Sinner, who continues to look the biggest threat to Novak Djokovic’s title defence in the top half.
Sinner is yet to drop a set and battled to a 6-4 7-5 6-3 victory over last year’s semi-finalist Karen Khachanov.
