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Alex de Minaur edged a rising challenger to reach the Monte Carlo quarter-finals and regain momentum on clay.
Alex de Minaur has advanced to the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters, overcoming a spirited challenge from rising Belgian Alexander Blockx in his first clay-court event of the season.
The Australian, ranked world No.6, defeated the 21-year-old qualifier 7-5 7-6 (7-4) in a tight contest at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. Blockx, who had celebrated his birthday a day earlier with a career-best win over 10th seed Flavio Cobolli, pushed de Minaur throughout before the more experienced player closed out the match in one hour and 47 minutes.
De Minaur recovered from an early deficit in the opening set, where Blockx led 4-2, by breaking twice to take control. The second set remained on serve, but the Australian's sharper execution in the tiebreak, supported by 21 winners across the match, proved decisive.
The result marks a strong response after early exits in Indian Wells and Miami, with de Minaur indicating he had been satisfied with his level despite those losses and was pleased to have reset on clay.
He now faces local wildcard Valentin Vacherot in the quarter-finals, after the Monegasque player continued his rise with a three-set win over Hubert Hurkacz.
De Minaur acknowledged there was still room to improve early in the clay swing but expressed confidence in his position deep into the tournament.
Elsewhere, the draw continues to build towards a potential final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who are both progressing strongly.
Sinner, chasing a return to world No.1, saw his run of 37 consecutive sets won at Masters 1000 level end but maintained his winning streak with a three-set victory over Tomas Machac. Alcaraz also advanced after defeating Tomas Martin Etcheverry in three sets.
In other quarter-final match-ups, Felix Auger-Aliassime progressed following Casper Ruud's retirement through injury, while Joao Fonseca's rapid rise continued with a straight-sets win over Matteo Berrettini to set up a clash with Alexander Zverev.