The Sydney duo of Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin will do clay-court battle to become the first Australian man for a quarter-of-a-century to reach the quarter-finals of the prestigious Monte Carlo Masters tournament.
The last-16 duel follows Popyrin's terrific 6-4 6-4 victory, one of the best of his career, over Andrey Rublev that sent the Russian defending champion and world No.6 spinning out of the event on Wednesday.
Watched by F1 Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz among other luminaries at the Monte Carlo Country Club's main Court Rainier III, Popyrin, the world No.46, accelerated smoothly to a surprisingly comfortable win in an hour and 40 minutes.
