Alex de Minaur hits tournament shot to triumph in four-hour marathon at Australian Open

An impressive reflex drive allowed Alex de Minaur to avoid cataclysm and qualify for the round of 16 of the Australian Open.

De Minaur fought a fierce battle against 31st seed Francisco Cerundolo, winning in four sets in a grueling match lasting nearly four hours, with a score of 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 6 -3, 6-3.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Alex de Minaur's remarkable reflex drive.

The Australian round of 16 seemed in great difficulty at the start of the match, the trend reversing during the second set.

De Minaur trailed by a set and served at 5-6 in the second set, the pivotal moment of the match.

He lost the first point with a missed smash and was preparing to fall to 0-30 when Cerundolo made a magnificent passing shot down the line, which grazed the net and seemed destined to fall into the corner of the court.

However, de Minaur was able to quickly adjust the head of his racket to make a volley which made it possible to return to 15-15.

This move stunned the commentators.

“Reflexes worthy of a Formula 1 driver and what an ideal moment! He adjusted the angle of his racket perfectly, stole that point, and 0-30 became 15-15,” commented American legend Jim Courier on Nine.

“It was one of the best shots of the tournament so far,” he added.

Peter Marcato, commenting on the global stream, said it was better than the tweener seen so far in the tournament.

“Are you kidding?… This reaction is incredible. For me it's the shot of the tournament, I know we've seen a few shots between the legs, but this one stands out,” he said.

Although we cannot guarantee that he would have lost the set at 0-30, it would have been a mountain to climb, as De Minaur had never managed to come back from two sets to zero in his career, so he would have been at on the verge of elimination in its national tournament.

De Minaur was able to hold and eventually force a tiebreak, which he won to return to one set all.

Former champion Todd Woodbridge said the shuttlecock kept de Minaur in the match.

“There is a moment where we can say that this shot was crucial. Of course, he still had a third set to play, but he turned things around and now we're down to one set all the way through,” he stressed on Nine.

Lleyton Hewitt also highlighted the importance of this move.

“Absolutely, we always have to talk about reflexes at the net. That shot that skimmed the net and went past it, I don't know how he managed to do it. It would have been really difficult to stay in that second set at 0-30,” he said.

After winning the tiebreak, de Minaur used the momentum to start the third set with an early break.

Cerundolo, visibly cramping, managed to break unexpectedly, but de Minaur quickly regained control to win the set.

From that point on, it seemed like there would only be one winner, but the Argentine never gave up.

Another key moment occurred in the fourth set which helped de Minaur achieve a decisive break and end Cerundolo's resistance.

Cerundolo was serving at 15-0 and looked set to move to 30-0 after dominating a point, but the Aussie showed his impressive speed to catch an extra ball and force another shot from his opponent which he missed unexpectedly.

De Minaur celebrated this point by raising his legs, signifying that “the legs are back”.

He capitalized on this momentum to gain break points and took the lead after a double fault from Cerundolo.

The Argentinian received more treatment for his cramps and had to play hard as the match slipped away from him, before finally losing on another double fault.

De Minaur will now face American Alex Michelsen in the round of 16, with both players having a good chance of meeting in the quarter-final against Jannik Sinner.

“He's a young guy full of confidence, it'll be a good fight, but I love these fights and I can't wait,” he said of Michelsen.

Earlier in the match, both players had exchanged breaks before de Minaur took the upper hand, cruising to a first set victory leading 5-3 after a marathon 14-minute game.

But everything quickly went wrong as Cerundolo held his serve before breaking following a double fault from de Minaur.

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The Argentinian then held his serve to lead 6-5, increasing the pressure on de Minaur who had to serve to stay in the set. At 30-40, disaster struck when de Minaur double-faulted once again, dropping the first set.

And despite the risk of losing two sets, de Minaur was able to turn the situation around thanks to his decisive blow.