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Up against a familiar nemesis in Tsitsipas, who had won 12 of the pair's previous 13 meetings, De Minaur reversed the trend with a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory at the ATP 500 event in Washington. The Australian set a second-round clash with 17 year-old countryman Cruz Hewitt, the son of legendary Lleyton Hewitt, who watched De Minaur's opening win from the stands on Stadium Court.

Tsitsipas had enjoyed the upper hand in the rivalry in recent years, including in the pair's most recent meeting in Miami in March. But De Minaur, playing his first tournament since marrying WTA star Katie Boulter, produced a scrappy performance to overcome the Greek and keep his Washington title defence on track.

Tsitsipas appeared in control after opening a 4-2 lead in the first set, but De Minaur reeled off four consecutive games to snatch the opener. The World No. 51 Tsitsipas responded by raising his level in the second set to force a decider, yet De Minaur again wrestled control in the third with his trademark speed and defensive resilience, sealing victory after two hours.

“Coming in, I really didn’t have too many expectations. It was a quick turnaround,” De Minaur said when asked about his wedding. “I’m glad that I was able to find a way in a tricky match. It wasn’t pretty tennis, but I did just enough to get over the line and I’m happy with that.

“Stefanos has been an incredible player for a very long time. He’s able to really hold that inside-out forehand really well and if you’re not able to find his backhand, you’re in a lot of trouble. In the past, I didn’t serve the best when I played him. Today I changed it up a little bit and it ended up working out for me.”

De Minaur has won a Tour-leading 60 ATP 500 matches since the start of the 2023 season. The No. 6 player in the ATP Rankings is competing as the top seed at a tour-level event for just the fifth time in his career.