Alex de Minaur is staring down Novak Djokovic for a career-first feat after reaching a milestone 50th tour-level victory in his best ever season, easing into the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters in the process.

But now the Australian No.1 hopes his win — a 7-5 6-2 win over Portugal’s Nuno Borges — is just a staging post on his way to what could be his first ever ATP Masters 1000 triumph.

De Minaur became just the third man in 2025 to hit the 50-win mark, following Carlos Alcaraz (67) and Taylor Fritz (50) on Wednesday, with the Sydneysider also leading the tour in 37 hard-court victories for the season.

The landmark never looked in doubt once de Minaur had earned the only break of the opening set to go ahead 6-5, starting a run of six straight games as he assumed total control in

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