Like most Australian tennis players, Alex de Minaur does not naturally feel at home on the red clay of the European Mediterranean swing.
But the 25-year-old Sydneysider has not reached No.11 in the world without working hard on all aspects of his game and has gradually becoming accustomed to the unfamiliar ochre.
The Australian No.1 demonstrated his growing confidence on the surface with a battling three-hour win at the Foro Italico over the in-form Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. That took him into the last 16 in Rome for the second time in six attempts.
