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'The Demon' Alex de Minaur wins Ultimate Tennis Showdown 3
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Published 18/10/2020 at 22:56 GMT+1
Alex de Minaur dropped only one quarter across the entire weekend as he recorded three wins on the spin to pick up the Lightning Bolt trophy in Antwerp. The 21-year-old goes into the European Open at the same venue in fine form.
Alex de Minaur lifts the lightning bolt trophy at UTS3
Image credit: Getty Images
Alex de Minaur is the champion of the third edition of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown - beating Richard Gasquet by three quarters to one.
The Australian - nicknamed 'the Demon' in the competition - was making his debut in the quickfire format, which was presented prior to the European Open in Antwerp.
And after defeating Dan Evans and Pablo Andujar on Friday evening, he then crushed the veteran Frenchman 24-9, 15-14, 16-17, 19-11.
"I had fun," de Minaur enthused afterwards. "It definitely helped me out a lot to get some on-court time and get used to this court for the following week.
"I’m very happy to be able to come out and play some good tennis."
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Highlights: De Minaur beats Gasquet to win UTS 3
Video credit: TNT Sports
Gasquet had to save match point in the third quarter, down 16-15, but he brought his backhand into play to force the match to at least go the distance.
"He was just better than me to be honest,” Gasquet said. “He doesn’t miss, he’s serving well. I did a lot of effort in the third but in the fourth I couldn’t. He was too strong today."
The pair will face off again on Tuesday in the European Open round of 32.
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De Minaur celebrates winning UTS 3
Video credit: TNT Sports
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