Alex de Minaur has shown no scars from his mauling by Novak Djokovic in Melbourne as he rebounded with one of the most striking wins of his career over Andrey Rublev at the Rotterdam Open.
In his first match since being blown off court by Djokovic at the Australian Open three weeks ago, de Minaur played a nearly flawless match at the Dutch indoor event on Wednesday to rush and harry the world No.5 Rublev to a 6-4 6-4 defeat in just 81 one-sided minutes.
It was the Australian No.2's third victory over a top-five opponent in less than four months after he defeated Rublev's compatriot Daniil Medvedev at the Paris Masters in November and Rafael Nadal in the United Cup in January.
It was also a terrific morale booster for the 23-year-old Sydneysider, who cut a dejected figure after the lesson he received on Rod Laver Arena, raising questions again about whether he was equipped to tackle the true elite.
Here was an emphatic reminder that the world No.25 can give anyone a game on his day as he took the fight to the Russian - who'd also been taken to school by Djokovic in the Australian Open - from the start on the hardcourt and quite outplayed him.
De Minaur attacked at every opportunity, taking the ball uncomfortably early for Rublev's liking and effectively took him out of his comfort zone.
'Demon' didn't give up a single break point over the whole match and cracked 15 winners as his constant aggression gradually gnawed away at Rublev's confidence, reducing him to some elementary errors, including one embarrassing smash buried into the bottom of the net.
The No.2 seed made 24 unforced errors, and just as many that really were squeezed from him as he found de Minaur's early, clean striking too much to cope with.
It sets up an intriguing last-16 tie for de Minaur against American net rusher Maxime Cressy, who defeated Dutch wildcard Tim van Ritjhoven 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-3. The prospect of a quarter-final against Grigor Dimitrov then awaits the winner.
Earlier, Jannik Sinner, fresh from his victory at the ATP tournament in Montpellier at the weekend, beat Benjamin Bonzi 6-2 3-6 6-1 to set a last-16 duel with top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
