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After the elation of the biggest win of his career, deflation did not take long to follow for the ever-willing Alex de Minaur at the Paris Masters.
- De Minaur was aiming to reach the quarter-finals of a Masters tournament for the first time
- He served for the second set at 5-3, but Frances Tiafoe stormed back to force and win a tiebreak
- He could also have passed Nick Kyrgios as Australia's top-ranked male with a win
The Australian, buoyed by his breakthrough win over Daniil Medvedev 24 hours earlier, quickly had that sinking feeling with a straight-sets, last-16 loss to Frances Tiafoe on Thursday.
De Minaur, looking for the victory that would take him back to the Australian number one spot and earn him a quarter-final place in a Masters event for the first time, found himself back in the familiar position of being somewhat outgunned, losing 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) in an absorbing contest.
Not that he did not have his chances to make it another red letter day in his career.
The 23-year-old Sydneysider, demonstrating familiar grit to battle back into the contest, had his opportunity to level the match at one set apiece when he served for the second stanza at 5-3 up against the US Open semi-finalist at Bercy's Accor Arena.
But the American broke back, took the match into a hard-fought tiebreak and struck decisively in the breaker, firing a backhand winner off the Australian's second serve on his second match point.
It felt like another anti-climactic moment for 25th-ranked de Minaur, who played so well in that second set only to be denied the chance of surpassing world number 22 Nick Kyrgios as his country's top men's player when the new rankings are released next week.
Ultimately, though, the contrast in firepower was evident as the in-form Tiafoe blasted down his 34th winner to go with his 14 aces — compared to the Australian's 18 winners — and wrapped up victory in an hour and 40 minutes.
Still, de Minaur's form over the week should encourage Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt that his leading player is in the shape to challenge anybody with the finals set for Malaga later this month.
AAP