A top-eight seeding would mean de Minaur, a strong grasscourt performer, avoids facing a higher-ranked opponent until a potential quarter-final.
His best result at the London slam was reaching the fourth round two years ago, when he lost from two sets up against Chilean Cristian Garin with a last-eight berth in sight.
De Minaur and Zverev traded breaks in the third and fourth games of the match, and the dogged Australian consistently made the German work hard on serve but double-faulted to gift his rival a 5-3 lead that he converted into a one-set lead.
Even then, Zverev showed outward signs of frustration in the early stages of the second set, with little separating the pair.
De Minaur had to rely on winning a steady diet of second-serve points against Zverev to hang in the match – even more so after falling a set and a break down, but he broke back then earned a set point to level the match in the 12th game.
He almost secured it, too, guessing the right way on a Zverev overhead before narrowly failing to keep his down-the-line forehand in the court.
Zverev survived that tense moment, plus a time violation shortly after, to force a tiebreak, then quickly fell 4-0 behind, only to reel off seven of the next nine points to win the second set, including a riveting, nerve-jangling 39-shot rally at 5-5.
It was a decisive moment, given de Minaur has never recovered from a two-set deficit.
What was a line-ball showdown suddenly tilted significantly in Zverev’s favour, and another de Minaur double fault left the Australian with a lot of work to do at 2-4.
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A break-back point came and went in the next game, but de Minaur’s never-say-die attitude came to the fore as Zverev served for a semi-final spot. Zverev double-faulted to fall in a 0-30 hole, then faced another break point three points later.
This time, de Minaur made it to the net and nailed a superb drop volley winner to extend the contest and trigger everyone in his player’s box to raise to their feet.
However, it was only a stay of execution. He edged 30-15 ahead, but three straight errors proved his downfall as Zverev upped the ante.
Source Agencies