Alex de Minaur booked his place in the last 16 at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships after overcoming a difficult test against American Martin Damm on Wednesday. 

De Minaur, who won the tournament in 's-Hertogenbosch in 2024, needed almost two hours to confirm his 7-6 (10-8) 7-5 triumph on Centre Court. 

The second seed started strongly and reeled off the first four games with the minimum of fuss, but Damm hit back with a four-game winning streak of his own to level things up. 

De Minaur then missed five break points in the ninth game with a tie-break needed, and the Australian eventually got himself over the line to take the early advantage. 

The pair traded blows in the second set and looked as though they were heading for another tie-break, but De Minaur found another gear to reach the next round. 

He sealed his progression with a brilliant backhand down the left baseline that Damm could only return into the net. De Minaur will take on Ugo Humbert or Benjamin Bonzi next. 

There was also a win for former champion Tallon Griekspoor, who overcame a mid-match slump to defeat compatriot Botic van de Zandschulp over three sets. 

Griekspoor was 2-0 up in the third set when play was suspended on Tuesday due to rain, but he was able to finish the job 24 hours later with a 6-2 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 triumph. 

Meanwhile, at the Stuttgart Open, Alexander Bublik was also pushed the distance by Jan-Lennard Struff, but he was able to exact revenge over the German. 

Bublik was dumped out of the French Open by Struff in the first round, but teed up a clash with Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard after earning a 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-2 victory. 

De Minaur made to work

After a disappointing third-round exit at Roland-Garros, De Minaur managed to get himself back on track in 's-Hertogenbosch, but he will want to improve his performance as the tournament goes on after being pushed the distance by Damm.

He won just 73% (30/41) of his first-serve points compared to Damm's total of 66% (40/61), while De Minaur was only able to convert three of the 14 break point opportunities he created for himself.

But De Minaur was able to showcase his class and now has his eyes firmly set on another title in the Netherlands. He would become only the sixth player to win the tournament at least twice and the first since Nicolas Mahut, who claimed his third crown in 2016.