Alex de Minaur launched his Washington Open title defense with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Wednesday to set an all-Australian clash with teen Cruz Hewitt.
Tsitsipas, the former world No 3 from Greece, had won 12 of their prior 13 encounters, but de Minaur shrugged off a shaky start to turn the tables.
Title defence is 🔛
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 29, 2026
Alex de Minaur clears his first hurdle as reigning champion, defeating Tsitsipas 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.@mubadaladcopen | #MubadalaDCOpen | @alexdeminaur pic.twitter.com/KWhugYhuyo
After surviving a break point in the fourth game he handed Tsitsipas a break with back-to-back double-faults.
The Aussie fought back with two breaks of his own and survived another break point in the 10th game to pocket the first set.
Tsitsipas broke first again in the second set and held on to force the third. But de Minaur took advantage of an unforced error by Tsitsipas to seize an early break and held on for the win.
"It's no secret my head-to-head isn't the greatest against him. He's gotten the better of me many, many times," said de Minaur.
"I'm happy with how it went today... played the match on its own merits, and ultimately found a way in a tricky, tricky match."
De Minaur next faces 17-year-old qualifier Hewitt, the son of Aussie great Lleyton Hewitt who captured his first-ever ATP Tour victory earlier this week.
De Minaur joked that he won't be offended if his country's Davis Cup captain – former world No 1 Lleyton Hewitt – is rooting against him.
"I would expect him to be in his son's box, and rightfully so," de Minaur said.
In other men's matches, third-seeded American Taylor Fritz reached the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Poland's Kamil Majchrzak.
Peak Fritz on display 😮💨@Taylor_Fritz97 barely put a foot wrong in a commanding win over Majchrzak to advance to the last eight in the capital 🇺🇸@mubadaladcopen | #MubadalaDCOpen pic.twitter.com/fSJecUCGv0
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 29, 2026