A 44-day wait came to a halt overnight as Alex de Minaur claimed his first victory since the US Open fourth round to win a come-from-behind arm wrestle in Belgium.
Despite a nervy start, the world No.10 bounced back to defeat Spaniard Roberto Carballés Baena 2-6 6-4 6-2 at the Antwerp Open round of 16 stage.
De Minaur, the top seed, has had to overcome a hip injury suffered at Wimbledon earlier this year, which ignited once again during his last-eight exit at Flushing Meadows.
Speaking after the match, the 25-year-old explained his delight being back out on court.
"It’s never easy coming back from injury or from a long time playing. [I'm] happy I was able to win today, it took a lot of fight and effort, so I’m happy to get a first win here in Antwerp," De Minaur told TennisTV.
"The match is never over until the last point, that’s what I always tell myself. I’m always going to compete until the very end, and it’s helped me win a lot of matches, so I better keep doing it."
"I think as the match went on, I started to find my rhythm, my level, I became a little bit more aggressive and did what I needed to do to get the win today. Hopefully I can build on this and the next match I can play even better."
The Sydneysider will face Frenchman Hugo Gaston in the quarter-finals.
Elsewhere, world No.83 Aleksandar Vukic proved too strong for good mate and fellow Aussie James Duckworth to win 6-4 7-5 at the Almaty Open in Kazakhstan.
A light-hearted moment occurred in the second set when Duckworth somehow produced a brilliant recovery from Vukic's smash at the net, telling the latter to "tell your friends" as the pair exchanged laughs.
The same success could not be summed up on the women's side, with Australia's two highest-ranked females Ajla Tomljanović (No.81) and Olivia Gadecki (No.83) bowing out in straight sets respectively at the Ningbo Open.
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