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Alex De Minaur will be glued to the television on Saturday night to see whether he’ll face Novak Djokovic in a fourth round fixture at this year’s Australian Open.
De Minaur cruised past French player Benjamin Bonzi at Rod Laver Arena, winning 7-6, 6-2, 6-1 to continue a purple patch for the 22nd seed.
That win has set up a likely showdown with 22-time grand slam winner and fourth seed Djokovic, with only 27th seed Grigor Dimitrov standing in the Serbian star’s way of a date with the Aussie.
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“I am going to have my popcorn ready,” said de Minaur after his win, referring to the Djokovic-Dimitrov Saturday night clash as well as the prime time match of fellow Aussie Alexei Popyrin.
“I will be switching between channels for sure.”
After securing his own spot in the fourth round, de Minaur wants to see his compatriot Popyrin join him there.
Popyrin will take on American Ben Shelton on Saturday night, and de Minaur has implored the fans to pack out the stadium for that much.
Watch the Australian Open live and free on the Nine Network: Channel 9, 9Gem and 9NOW.
Popyrin returns to John Cain Arena, which was the site of the Sydneysider’s epic win over eighth seed Taylor Fritz who he beat 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2.
“I hope everyone that was on this court right now is going to go and support Alexei Popyrin,” said de Minuaur after his third round win over Benjamin Bonzi.
“I mean, let’s go. That’s what we do. Us Aussies, we stick together. We’ve got a bright future ahead and let’s get Pop over the line today.”
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