As one of the fittest contenders at this year’s Australian Open, one who rivals often cite as the quickest on tour, Alex de Minaur doesn’t shy away from a drawn-out scrap.
Not that the 26-year-old would complain if saving the legs boosts his tilt for a deeper push into the second week at his home Grand Slam.
If forced to weather the storm though, the 26-year-old — in such prime physical condition — finds assurance in knowing there’s plenty in the tank.
It holds De Minaur in good stead ahead of a prime-time third-round showdown against Frances Tiafoe at Rod Laver Arena on Thursday.
While the ledger reads 3-1 in his favour, De Minaur understands the 29th seed is a former top-10 player more than capable of spoiling his second-week plans.
“Yeah, look, Frances, he's super dangerous, right? He's playing well, got a lot of firepower. He's a veteran. We've had some battles in the past,” De Minaur said.
“I wouldn't expect anything other than an absolute battle against him. He seems to be locked in … It's only going to get tougher and tougher. I'm very happy with my level. I'm up for the full challenge.”
The sixth seed overcame an early onslaught against Serbian Hamad Medjedovic on Wednesday night before he physically and mentally pulled comfortably clear.
It secured his seventh successive third-round appearance at Melbourne Park and a shot at his fifth straight second-week showing.
“I do take a lot of pride in these types of victories — more than anything because I'm playing a very tough opponent, who played a really high-quality tennis,” De Minaur said. “I felt like I was able to hang with him and kind of maintain my level.
“As the match went on and on, I was able to even raise my level at times. That I'm very happy with, that I can kind of almost have that impact on opponents where they might start thinking that they're in for a long night and it's going to be very tough, especially best-of-five.”
Tiafoe also needed four sets to pass his second-round test, against Argentine Francisco Comesana, and was relishing a shot at revenge against the Australian, having fallen to him in three sets in their most recent encounter in the fourth round at last year’s Toronto Masters.
“I’ve known him for a long time. Him and me, we've played since we came on the scene,” Tiafoe said. “Got in the top 100 kind of around the same time.
“Yeah, I mean, seen him around for years, and now we're the older guys on the tour. Now we're playing big matches against each other — earlier for both of us than we would like, but I'm happy to play against him.
“It's going to be fun against all these fans. I love playing on the big courts, and now is where the event really gets going.”