De Minaur Reaches Australian Open Quarterfinals, Awaits Sinner

Alex de Minaur, Australian Open, Melbourne
Alex de Minaur (photo: Tennis Australia/Morgan Hancock)

MELBOURNE/WASHINGTON, January 20, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

On an evening in which an Australian Open second Monday Night attendance record was set, the fans who packed Rod Laver Arena to see favorite son Alex de Minaur in action were highly satisfied by the Sydneysider’s 6-0, 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over #NextGenATP American Alex Michelsen. After all, there’s no place like home.

The World No. 8 de Minaur kept Aussie dreams alive of a home-grown champion by racing into the AO quarterfinals for the first time – and his victory completed a box set of reaching the quarterfinals at all four majors. Previously, de Minaur had made it to the final eight at Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open but never in Melbourne.

Whether ball striking with authority, dazzling with his returns or playing cheerleader by raising his arms high after hitting a winner to get the crowd pumped up, de Minaur had the RLA crowd in his pocket. He delighted them with his domination of the 42nd-ranked Michelsen over the course of the two-hour, nine-minute fourth-round match, which put a wrap on the men’s round of 16.

“It means the world. There’s nothing I want to do more than to play well here in Australia front of you guys,” de Minaur, 25, said during his on-court interview with Hall of Famer Jim Courier.

De Minaur’s triumph made him the fifth Australian man in the Open Era to reach the quarterfinals or better at all four Grand Slams, joining Rod Laver, Tony Roche, John Newcombe and Lleyton Hewitt, all of the members of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

“I’m glad I finally made it to the quarterfinals here, but let’s go for bigger and better things,” he added.

De Minaur came out ahead of Michelsen in all of the key stats. He finished with 28 winners compared to 23, won 79 percent of his first-serve points as opposed to 60 percent, and converted five of 11 break points. Michelsen broke de Minaur just once. By the end, de Minaur had outpointed Michelsen 101-76.

“I had my opportunities in the second set to maybe run away with that one as well and not let him inside of the match, but I wasn’t able to close out,” de Minaur explained.

“He raised his level and it made it a tough match, and that second set was pivotal. I was extremely happy to bounce back after not a great game to get broken [at 5-4]. That second set was massive.”

Now, if de Minaur is to reach his first major semifinal, he will have to take out World No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner, something he’s been unable to do in nine previous meetings.

“Like my whole career, it has been day by day,” de Minaur said. “It has not been success overnight. I have had to improve every year, little percentages. Get a little stronger, bigger and get a few more free points on my serve. Getting more confidence and I think it is a combination of that and I think the consistency always pays off at the end.”

Sinner struggles physically, still beats Rune

Top seed Sinner struggled physically during his fourth-round match Monday afternoon with No. 13 seed Holger Rune of Denmark. However, he made a remarkable recovery – in the nick of time – and beat Rune, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, in three hours and 13 minutes on Rod Laver Arena to improve to 3-2 lifetime against the Dane.

According to reports, the World No. 1 from Italy skipped his pre-match practice and saw a tournament doctor before the start of his match with Rune, where temperatures reached 32º Celsius (89º Farenheit). Later, he took a medical time out to have his pulse checked early in the second set.

“I think we saw that today I was struggling physically,” Sinner said in during his post-match news conference. “Came here as late as possible. I knew that it was going to be very, very difficult today. You know, playing against a tough opponent, but also playing against myself a little bit.”

Statistically, Sinner hit 14 aces won 83 percent of his first-serve points, compared to 66 percent for Rune. He tallied 35 winners to 35 unforced errors while Rune countered with 31 winners and 54 unforced errors. Sinner converted four of eight break points and he outpointed Rune 120-95.

Sinner downplayed any speculation that he was injured.

“When I’m not feeling well on court, sometimes I tend to walk a little bit on the left. But, no, injury-wise I have nothing. Just health-wise a little bit struggling, but I’m good with injuries.

“Of course, the time of the court with me and the doctor, we talked a little bit. It helped me today, and it also shows that this tournament has great organization,” Sinner said.

Lost in the drama of Sinner’s heath situation, he advanced to his 10th Grand Slam quarterfinal, equaling Nicola Pietrangeli’s all-time record for most Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances by an Italian man.

Shelton reaches AO quarterfinals after Monfils retirement

After reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals in his Melbourne debut two years ago, 22-year-old American Ben Shelton reached the last eight, again, after the retirement by his opponent, 41st-ranked Gaël Monfils of France. The No. 21 seed Shelton led the 38-year-old Frenchman, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 1-0 after two hours and 57 minutes of play.

Monfils’ retirement ended an eight-match winning streak, which included winning a tune-up event in Auckland, New Zealand. The physical demands of playing Shelton had taken its toll on his body.

“Obviously he’s played a lot of long matches, so I wanted to make it as physical as possible,” Shelton said during his on-court interview. “There’s a lot of things he does unbelievably well, counter-punching, making you feel uncomfortable on the court, getting to the net. So, being able to find that balance was tricky because he was serving so well.

“Gael is someone I have watched since a little kid, I always say he has the greatest highlight tape of all time, and you saw some of that tonight. At 38 years old, I hope I am still walking without crutches. … To push me the way he did today and entertain everyone in New Zealand and Australia in the way he has the last couple of weeks is so impressive.

“I hope to be able to create some memories like that with my family watching on at that age, because it’s really special and unheard of in any other sport.”

By the end, Monfils simply had nothing more he could give. He had gone five grueling sets in defeating No. 30 seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round and it took four sets for him to beat World No. 4 and fourth seed Taylor Fritz in the third round.

Next, Shelton will play unseeded Lorenzo Sonego of Italy, who ended the run of qualifier Learner Tien of the United States.

Sonego ends qualifier Tien’s run

No. 55 Sonego, who has moved up to No. 35 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings with his run to the AO quarterfinals, can match his career-high ranking of No. 13 if he beats Shelton on Wednesday. On Monday, he overcame the 121st-ranked #NextGenATP American qualifier Tien, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, in two hours and 25 minutes on John Cain Arena to reach his first major quarterfinal.

Like Monfils, Tien struggled physically during the match. However, by the end the 29-year-old Sonego benefited from his experience against Tien, 10 years his junior. He struck 58 winners, won 90 percent of his first-serve points, converted five of 11 break points and outpointed Tien 116-81.

“I don’t know what to say, it’s just unbelievable, crazy emotions,” Sonego said afterward. “I’m so sad because he had some problems and this is not the right way to win, but I am so happy to reach the quarterfinals.

“It’s the first Grand Slam [of the year], I wanted to do my best obviously. I played really well this week and I just want to enjoy every moment on this court.”

Swiatek storms into her 10th career major quarterfinal

Iga Swiatek‘s bakery was open for business for just under an hour – 59 minutes to be exact – but it was enough time to serve up a bagel and breadstick. On Monday evening, the former World No. 1 and five-time major titlist marched into her 10th career Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over lucky loser Eva Lys of Germany on Rod Laver Arena.

At just 23, the World No. 2 from Poland became the youngest woman to reach her 10th major quarterfinal in 16 years, since Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia reached her 10th at the 2009 Australian Open. After having reached the last eight at the 2024 US Open, it’s the first time Swiatek has garnered back-to-back Grand Slam quarterfinals outside of Roland-Garros.

After losing a total of seven games during her first-round match against Katerina Siniakova of Czechia, Swiatek lost just three games in her next two rounds – victories over Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia (6-0, 6-2) and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu of Great Britain (6-1, 6-0). The 11 games the second-seeded Swiatek has lost through the first four rounds marks her fewest at a Grand Slam excluding retirements.

“I’m still, what, 23,” Swiatek said during her on-court interview. “There’s a lot to improve, always.”

Against, the 128th-ranked Lys, whom she defeated in their only previous meeting, Swiatek opened by winning the first nine games of the match to take a commanding 6-0, 3-0 lead before Lys finally held her serve.

By the end, Swiatek finished with 28 winners and won 57 percent of her receiving points. She broke Lys five times and saved the only two break points she faced. Swiatek outpointed Lys 59-27.

“I usually didn’t feel comfortable at the Australian Open with my game, but this year it’s a bit better so I’m just enjoying being on the court and off the court, as well,” she said.

Navarro has become queen of three-set victories

Swiatek’s quarterfinal opponent will be World No. 8 and eighth seed Emma Navarro of the United States, one of three American women remaining in the last eight along with World No. 3 and third seed Coco Gauff and World No. 14 and 19th seed Madison Keys.

Navarro became the second player in the Open Era after Jelena Dokic in 2009 to reach the AO quarterfinals after playing all three-setters in the first four rounds. As has been her custom, Navarro went the distance to defeat No. 9 seed Daria Kasatkina of Russia, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5, in two hours and 40 minutes on John Cain Arena. Her match began before Swiatek’s and ended well after it.

Like her first two wins, against American Peyton Stearns and Wang Xiyu of China, in which she was a break down in the decider, Navarro found herself in trouble trailing Kasatkina by a break at 3-2 in the final set. She had already squandered a couple of match points serving at 5-4 in the second set. However, the former NCAA singles champion from the University of Virginia went to work and pulled out another victory to advance against Swiatek.

According to Navarro, during her on-court interview, she said she drew inspiration from the classic Bee Gee’s hit “Stayin’ Alive,” which playing over the loud speakers during the changeover after the ninth game.

“They played that song, ‘Stayin’ Alive,’ at 5-4 in the third set and I kind of felt like that was really appropriate,” Navarro said. “This whole tournament, I’ve just been staying alive and hoping to continue on that train.”

Navarro overcame 50 unforced errors by hitting 40 winners while Kasatkina finished with 36 winners and 59 unforced errors. She converted nine of 25 break points and outpointed her opponent 127-115 to reach her third straight major quarterfinal.

“I guess I’m finding my form a little bit. The longer I stay out here, the better I feel out on court,” Navarro added.

“Trying to use it to my advantage as much as possible. I appreciate you guys staying out here for a lot of sets this tournament.”

Around the Australian Open

No. 19 seed Madison Keys of the United States toppled World No. 7 and sixth seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in an hour and 49 minutes on Margaret Court Arena for her ninth straight win. The victory advanced Keys to her fourth AO quarterfinal, where she will meet No. 28 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, an earlier 6-4, 6-1 winner over No. 75 Veronika Kudermetova of Russia.

A decade ago, in 2015 Keys was a Melbourne semifinalist in her breakout year Down Under. She also reached the semifinals in 2022.

“It’s hard to believe that it was ten years ago,” Keys, 29, said during her on-court interview smiling. “To still be out here and playing some good tennis all these years later, I’m really happy.”

Against Rybakina, Keys hit 27 winners and took advantage of 38 unforced errors – 20 of them in the opening set. Despite having her serve broken four times during the match, Keys managed to convert five of nine break-point opportunities. She outpointed Rybakina 88-86.

“I knew that if I could just try to make at least some of her service games a little competitive then I had a chance,” Keys said. “Really proud of myself today.”

Monday’s Australian Open results

Tuesday’s Australian Open order of play

By the numbers

According to the WTA website, Iga Swiatek remains in contention to reclaim the World No. 1 ranking from current No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka next Monday, when the rankings are updated following the Australian Open. Sabalenka will need to defeat No. 27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Tuesday in the quarterfinal round in order to stay ahead of Swiatek. If Swiatek also wins her quarterfinal, against No. 8 seed Emma Navarro on Wednesday, Sabalenka will need to reach the final. If Swiatek and Sabalenka meet in the final, the winner will be World No. 1.

“Quotable …”

“I don’t know if when I started, I thought I’d be almost 30 and still playing at the level that I’m playing, and arguably playing maybe even better than I have ever really played.”

– World No. 14 Madison Keys of the United States, during her on-court interview, following her fourth-round victory over World No. 7 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan Monday. Keys, who won the Adelaide International title earlier this month, has won nine straight matches.

 

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