Tennis: Alex de Minaur crashes out of Indian Wells Open

Top Australian tennis player Alex de Minaur crashed out of the Indian Wells Open on Thursday (AEDT), losing 7-5, 6-3 to world No.25 Francisco Cerundolo at the ATP Masters 1000 event in California.

De Minaur came into the match as a $1.29 favourite across top betting sites but could not find his best tennis in the fourth-round encounter.

The No.9 seed sprayed 39 unforced errors, and although his opponent hit an equal number, de Minaur was far less effective at finding winners.

Cerundolo — a $3.75 underdog at BetOnline pre-match — hit past de Minaur on 22 occasions, while he also defended 11 of 14 breakpoints over the course of the one-hour, 50-minute match.

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“I am super happy. I knew it was going to be a battle today,” Cerundolo said after the match.

“Alex is an amazing player, a fighter. He is having some great years, a top-10 player.

“We had a battle in Australia and it went his side but today I had another match, another opportunity and I think I did really well.

“I am super happy to beat a high-quality player and be in the quarter-finals in Indian Wells.”

In what will be his fifth quarter-final appearance at ATP Masters 1000 level, Cerundolo will play the winner of defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and No.14 seed Grigor Dimitrov.

Alcaraz is priced at $1.11 to beat Dimitrov and remains a $1.91 favourite to win the tournament at the best bookmakers, ahead of Daniil Medvedev ($4.33) and Holger Rune ($10).

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