Alex de Minaur emulates LEGENDARY player after sad Aus Open fallout for tennis fan favourite
Alex de Minaur has silenced any doubts about an Australian Open hangover with another dominant performance at the Rotterdam Open, equaling a record held by the legendary Roger Federer. Despite a tough quarter-final loss to Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, de Minaur has bounced back in style, remaining unbeaten in sets since Melbourne.
The 25-year-old Australian, who has struggled against Sinner in their 10 career meetings, has used his experience to refocus. Leading Australia to victory over Sweden in the Davis Cup, de Minaur has continued his strong form in Rotterdam, cruising into the quarter-finals.
Backing up his straight-sets win over David Goffin, de Minaur showcased his speed and court coverage in a commanding 6-4, 6-4 victory over teenage sensation Jakub Mensik. The result hints at the Aussie’s ability to go further than last year’s final, where he once again fell to Sinner.
The good news for de Minaur is that Sinner is not defending his title this year, but the road to the trophy remains challenging. Next, he faces German lucky loser Daniel Altmaier in the quarter-finals, where he will be the favorite to progress to the semi-finals.
De Minaur’s triumph over Mensik means he has now reached the Rotterdam Open quarter-finals for four consecutive years, a feat previously matched only by Federer. The Aussie credited minor adjustments in his game for his success.
“I took a little bit of speed off my serve and focused more on percentage,” de Minaur explained. “That was key because I didn’t want to give him too many second serves to attack. I’m glad I executed that. The game plan worked really well today.”
With just one break of the 19-year-old Czech’s powerful serve in each set, de Minaur sealed the match without facing a single break point. “It’s never easy playing Jakub. He’s one of the best servers on tour and gets a lot of free points, which can be frustrating,” he said. “The key for me was staying calm and focusing on my own service games while applying pressure to get those crucial breaks.”
De Minaur’s one-hour, 27-minute victory sets up a quarter-final clash with Altmaier, who caused an upset by defeating rising French star Arthur Fils 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.
Should de Minaur advance to the semi-finals, he could face Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has an imposing 11-1 head-to-head record against the Australian. Tsitsipas narrowly survived a tough match against Tallon Griekspoor, saving a match point before winning 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (8-6), 7-5. The Greek star now faces Mattia Bellucci, who stunned second seed Daniil Medvedev in a major upset.
Meanwhile, World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz continued his campaign with a dominant win over qualifier Andrea Vavassori. The tournament’s top seed and four-time Grand Slam champion needed just over an hour to dispatch the Italian doubles specialist 6-2, 6-1, keeping his sights set on a first indoor title.
