World number one Jannik Sinner defeated home hero Alex de Minaur in straight sets at the Australian Open quarterfinals.
It was a relatively easy match for Sinner as he cruised past the eighth seed 6-3 6-2 6-1 to continue his title defence.
The first set was one way traffic from the Italian as De Minaur was unable to cope with the intensity of his game plan and the world number one broke first to lead 3-1.
Sinner was then able to hold his serve for three games to see out the first set 6-3 in 38 minutes.
In the first game of the second set, the Italian broke the serve of the Australian which put him in cruise control.
Sinner was then able to follow it up with a second break to make it 4-1 with a fierce forehand winner.
De Minaur was able to hold his serve to make it 5-2 but Sinner followed up with a firm hold to put him on course for the win.
While the world number eight refused to give up and played some wonderful points at 40-15 down on serve, he was no match for the two-time grand slam champion.
The Italian remained relentless in his pursuit for the win and two breaks in the third set put him 3-0 up and completely out of sight.
De Minaur did have a response and was able to get on the scoreboard at 4-1 down, but a comeback was still far away.
The Australian showed clear frustration towards his box as Sinner served to make it 5-1 as the curtains closed on his home tournament.
The Italian then broke De Minaur’s serve to win the match 6-3 6-2 6-1 to make the semi-finals for a second successive Australian Open
Sinner will face Ben Shelton after the American defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 7-5 4-6 7-6(4) earlier in the day.
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