Back in the fourth round for the fourth consecutive year, Alex de Minaur faces Alex Michelsen for a place in his first Australian Open quarterfinal.
Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 18 January 2025 | Sean A’Hearn
The records keep coming for Alex de Minaur.
With Saturday’s 5-7 7-6(3) 6-3 6-3 third-round win over Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo, De Minaur reached the round of 16 at his sixth consecutive Grand Slam event.
He also became the first Australian man to post four consecutive fourth-round appearances in the round of 16 at the AO since Phil Dent from 1979 to 1982.
It’s also a Melbourne Park first since the tournament moved there in 1988.
6 – Alex de Minaur is the first Australian player to make the Men’s Singles Fourth Round in six consecutive Major events since Lleyton Hewitt between the US Open 2003 and the Australian Open 2005. Model.#AO2025 | @AustralianOpen @atptour pic.twitter.com/Ihj6IyJdMZ
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 18, 2025
Notching his 17th win at the AO, De Minaur is now tied with Nick Kyrgios as having the third-most wins at the event by a local in the 21st century.
Only Lleyton Hewitt (31) and Bernard Tomic (18) are ahead of him, although at 25 years old, De Minaur is hot on their heels.
Another man very used to breaking records has been eyeing De Minaur’s achievements: Novak Djokovic.
The 10-time AO winner spoke highly of the Aussie after his straight-sets win over Thomas Machac on Friday night.
“I have watched him play a few matches, and the level is great. He’s got the crowd behind him. He’s playing really well,” the Serbian said.
“I think his serve became a big weapon. Maybe it wasn’t before. It’s not a surprise that he ended up top 10 last season in his best season yet. So I think we’re gonna see great things from Alex in this tournament.”
Saturday’s meeting with Cerundolo almost didn’t go to plan, however.
In a see-sawing affair that included five breaks of serve, it was the Argentine who struck first, taking the first set to a stunned Rod Laver Arena.
Struggling on serve, with both players only managing around 50 per cent of first serves in, the match moved towards an inevitable second-set tiebreak.
A brilliant reaction volley off a net cord while down 5-6 and 0-30 was perhaps the turning point for De Minaur.
With the match hanging on a knife’s edge in the second-set tiebreak, De Minaur lifted his level when it mattered most, upping the aggression and completely flipping the momentum in his favour.
From there, it was mostly one-way traffic as De Minaur kept the pressure high, despite Cerundolo’s valiant efforts.
A point at 3-3 in the fourth set summed up De Minaur’s tenacity. The eighth seed ran down a brilliant drop shot before chasing another ball back behind him, ripping a forehand and forcing an error from Cerundolo at the net.
De Minaur then chased down a similarly-spectacular drop shot to hold serve at 5-3. Hitting a slice backhand down at his shoelaces past a hapless Cerundolo, the Aussie celebrated by slapping his knees to a deafening roar.
“The legs are back!” de Minaur roared. “I mean, I’m going to have a couple of bruises on my legs, but it was worth it.”
Acknowledging he wasn’t at his best, De Minaur credited his trademark fighting spirit and continual improvement for getting himself through the match.
“This version of myself … even if I don’t have my best day, I’m going to compete till the end, and I’m still going to be a very tough out for anyone who’s in front of me,” he said.
“I build on that. We move on. Hopefully bigger and better things coming on for the next round.”
De Minaur will now face rising American star Alex Michelsen, who has already upset 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and, on Saturday, 19th seed Karen Khachanov.
https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen/status/1868525097939800443
The Sydneysider spoke to the challenge of playing someone who is brimming with confidence.
“He’s going to go out there with no fear. I’m going to do my best to make it difficult for him,” he said of Michelsen.
While he may not have been at his best, “this version” of De Minaur still looks like he can beat anyone.
