Omar Jasika and Alex De Minaur to clash in Australian Open wildcard playoff semi-final

YOUNG guns Omar Jasika and Alex De Minaur will clash in a blockbuster Australian Open wildcard playoff semi-final after contrasting wins at Melbourne Park.

Omar Jasika in action in Cairns. Picture: STEWART McLEAN

YOUNG guns Omar Jasika and Alex De Minaur will clash in a blockbuster Australian Open wildcard playoff semi-final after contrasting wins in scorching conditions at Melbourne Park.

De Minaur dispatched Matthew Barton 6-2 6-1 6-2 to sweep into the last four but last year’s playoff champion Jasika had to take the long road.

The Victorian left-hander outlasted Sydney’s Christopher O’Connell in a 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-1 4-6 6-4 cliffhanger.

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Requiring a trainer midway through a brutal contest, Jasika clinched the crucial service break in the ninth game of the deciding set to deny the tenacious O’Connell.

Watched by Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt, Jasika and Connell waged a relentless battle.

Jasika’s forehand was the dominant weapon in a telling first-set tiebreak before Connell levelled the match with an impressive second bracket.

When Jasika surged through the third set, O’Connell appeared to wilt but the New South Welshman dug in to force a decider.

Omar Jasika in action during the Australian Open wildcard playoff.

Alex De Minaur action during the Australian Open wildcard playoff. Picture: Michael Klein

Surviving break points in the fifth game, O’Connell strayed into trouble four games later and Jasika pounced.

Alex Bolt will play Marc Polmans in the other semi-final.

South Australian left-hander Bolt breezed past junior champion Alexander Crnokrak 6-1 6-3 6-3 in sweltering heat.

“My goal was to get off to a good start so I didn’t have to hang around in the heat like I did on Monday,” Bolt said.

Despite the physical toll of his first-round win on Monday the gifted southpaw said it had helped him find his groove in his return to competition after a month’s break.

“The three and a half hours that I was on court has really put me in a good spot and I’m starting to see the ball a lot bigger and it certainly showed today,” Bolt said.

Crnokrak, 17, claimed the national under-18 title last week.

Bolt’s next opponent is Marc Polmans, who kept his composure impressively against expressive Andrew Whittington.

While Whittington’s histrionics included clubbing balls high out of the court and an audible obscenity, Polman’s grit was key in a 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 4-6 6-2.

The women’s quarter-finals start from 10am today.

Originally published as Omar Jasika and Alex De Minaur to clash in Australian Open wildcard playoff semi-final