Alex de Minaur outlasted Adrian Mannarino in Atlanta beating him 6-0 in the final set.
As is customary for a summer in the United States, there has been heat galore for the players and fans to cope with this week in Atalanta, with temperatures regularly reaching over 30 degrees celcius.
While those conditions may be perfect for holiday makers, playing professional tennis at the highest level does get more complicated when the heat is so extreme.
What with tennis being a summer sport though, the show must go on. And that is exactly what Australian Alex de Minaur and Frenchman Adrian Mannarino had to endure in their quarter-final at the ATP 250 event.
With the Australian ending up the victor in what was a gruelling three-set battle (4-6, 6-3, 6-0), it was clear in his post-match reaction that he was overjoyed with outlasting his opponent in what proved to be challenging conditions:
"It's not called Hotlanta for nothing, that's for sure. It's definitely a hot one today. I had to absolutely battle, but jeez it feels good to get on top in these types of matches."
Heat is certainly something the De Minaur is used to after being born in Australia and growing up in Spain. It was potentially this innate advantage that saw him through in the end.
This was something the Aussie was proud of post-match, as he explained:
"Very proud of myself, very proud of my attitude. I didn't give in and managed to fight until the end. I'm happy to live another day."
And living another day is exactly what he will be doing when he goes up against Ivaska in the tournament's semi-final. He will certainly be hoping to go all the way in Georgia in preparation for the US Open which is just aroud the corner.
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