#NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur earned the first tour-level clay-court victory of his career on Monday, defeating Portuguese home favourite Gastao Elias 6-3, 6-1 at the Millennium Estoril Open.
It is the 19-year-old’s first tour-level win since he claimed his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 triumph at the BNP Paribas Open in March. De Minaur continues his ascent after beginning the season 7-1 with a semi-final appearance in Brisbane and his first ATP World Tour final in Sydney. He also advanced to the championship match at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Alicante, Spain earlier this month, losing against Pablo Andujar, who would win the Grand Prix Hassan II trophy the following week.
The wild card saved all nine break points he faced against Elias, whose serve he broke four times to advance in one hour, 26 minutes. De Minaur, who is at a career-best No. 111 in the ATP Rankings, is nearing a breakthrough into the Top 100. Third seed Kyle Edmund, the British No. 1, awaits the teenager in the second round.
While Elias was unable to earn a win for the Portuguese crowd, wild card Pedro Sousa was. The home favourite eliminated former World No. 6 Gilles Simon 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4) in two hours, 45 minutes. Sousa was the aggressor throughout the match, finishing off his first Top 100 victory in an ATP World Tour match with a swinging volley.
Did You Know?
De Minaur is playing doubles in Estoril with former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt. They face second seeds Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus on Tuesday.
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