Alex de Minaur has hailed his backs-to-the-wall triumph at the French Open against an inspired big-hitting opponent and in the face of another mentally draining rain delay as one of his very best.
The Australian survived a hail of winners from powerhouse Jan-Lennard Struff but emerged the stronger after a four-and-a-half hour stoppage to win 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-3 on Saturday, becoming the first Australian man for 17 years to reach the singles last-16 since his Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt.
And at the end of a match that took over eight hours to complete, de Minaur reckoned he had discovered "gold at the end of the tunnel".
