Estoril Open: Kyle Edmund cruises past Australian teenager Alex de Minaur in straight sets to reach quarter-finals

Estoril: Britain’s Kyle Edmund knocked out Australian teenager Alex de Minaur with a 6-2, 7-5 win to reach the quarter-finals of the Estoril Open on Wednesday. [caption id=“attachment_4315779” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Kyle Edmund. AP[/caption] De Minaur is based in Spain and clay is his favoured surface but he had few answers as Australian Open semi-finalist Edmund advanced in 97 minutes. Edmund, ranked a career-high 23rd, achieved his best Estoril showing after losing in the second round last year to Benoit Paire. “I felt really good with how I played throughout,” the third seed said. “I faced a tough opponent, who is very resilient. “He didn’t give away a lot of points, I had to work for this win. But I enjoyed winning a tough test, delivering in a pressure match. “I’ve trained with Alex. I know he has a difficult game. He likes to counter-attack and use the pace to deflect. “I knew how the match would go. I had to execute and impose my game to win it.” The Briton will next tackle Portuguese number one Joao Sousa, who needed two and a half hours to knock out namesake and compatriot Pedro Sousa with a 4-6, 7-6 (7/1), 7-5 win. Edmund broke De Minaur five times as he played for the first time since a first-round loss in Monte Carlo. De Minaur, 19, is still alive in the doubles alongside his 37-year-old Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt. The field in Portugal is headed by US Open runner-up Kevin Anderson, with the South African to start his campaign on Thursday against Greek rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas, the losing finalist last weekend to Rafael Nadal in Barcelona.