Alex de Minaur has missed out on a rare chance to beat Novak Djokovic twice in the same season, serving up a mistake-riddled display just when the world No.1 looked vulnerable in their Monte Carlo Masters quarter-final.
De Minaur, who had started his year by ending Djokovic's 43-match win streak in Australia at the United Cup, will be cursing himself that he couldn't quite deliver his 'A game' again as he succumbed 7-5 6-4 over two long, draining sets on Friday.
Djokovic wasn't at his sharpest, looked a little ring-rusty and weary in a physically demanding clay-court slog but his big-match nous still proved too much as he set yet another record by reaching his 77th semi-final in a Masters 1000 event, edging him past the mark he'd shared with Rafael Nadal.
