In a remarkable see-saw first-round contest, the Australian No.1 saved three match points on Thursday night en route to a fifth consecutive victory over the three-time grand slam winner in the prestigious Beijing indoor tournament.
De Minaur drove Murray to distraction, the British veteran getting so frustrated with his own form and de Minaur's dogged resilience that he even got a code violation for, rather uncharacteristically, hurling his racquet down three times in the same game.
The Scot's racquet-chucking became a constant theme before he finally succumbed 6-3 5-7 7-6 (8-6) to the never-say-die Sydneysider, who has now joined the most elite of company in becoming only the fourth man to beat Murray five times in a row.
The others who've achieved that feat? Only Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal! Unlike de Minaur, though, the great trio don't hold a 100 per cent win record over Murray.
"IÂ really don't know," shrugged a weary but elated world No.12 de Minaur, when asked afterwards how on earth he had managed to escape with one of his most unlikely victories in two hours 50 minutes.
"It wasn't pretty but I'm very happy I was able to win," added de Minaur, who had looked down at out at 5-2 down in the deciding set before saving two match points to claw his way back into the contest.
He saved another when 6-5 down in the deciding tiebreak as Murray hooked a potential match-winning forehand wide.
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