Alex de Minaur has delivered a huge boost to his hopes of reaching the end-of-season ATP Finals, conjuring up some of his best tennis since suffering his season-changing injury at Wimbledon as he powered into the last-four at the Vienna Open.
The Australian No.1 had to come from a set down against one of the hottest young prospects in the world game, teenage Czech Jakub Mensik, before prevailing 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 6-4 just before midnight on Friday (Saturday AEDT) and booking a place in the semi-finals.
If he can win the hardcourt title in the Austrian capital over the weekend, it would push de Minaur among the top eight players in line to qualify for the showpiece men's Finals in Turin next month.