Fifth seed knocked out as his opponent becomes first Australian to reach quarter-finals in Paris for 20 years
Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev was stunned by Alex de Minaur, who broke a 20-year Australian hoodoo at the French Open to advance to his first Roland- Garros quarter-final on Monday.
The 11th seed battled from a set down to stun Medvedev 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3.
De Minaur became the first man from his nation to reach the last eight at the clay court Grand Slam since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004, with the victory on Suzanne Lenglen coming after a mid-match interruption for Medvedev to receive treatment to a foot blister.
“It’s great. It’s amazing. It’s a great position to be in,” De Minaur said after his victory.
“It’s not just myself. The whole country is showing what we can do and the strength of the nation is extremely exciting for even everyone back at home, just to see all the numbers we got in the top 100, and we keep on pushing out there.
“Just to show what the Australian chemistry is, I’ve got Thanasi Kokkinakis watching me today, supporting me. It’s great to see, honestly.
“Unbelievable feeling to know you’ve got the support of your teammates and ultimately your mates on tour.”
Former Paris quarter-finalist Medvedev had lost only twice in eight previous meetings with De Minaur and drew first blood with a break in the third game but the 28-year-old was pushed hard in the next before extending his lead.
Speed Demon 😈#RolandGarros @alexdeminaur pic.twitter.com/6bqlYJiQBp
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 3, 2024
De Minaur drew loud cheers from the crowd as he retrieved shots relentlessly to mount a late comeback attempt from there but Medvedev wrapped up the opening set with little fuss to briefly dampen his opponent’s spirits.
Medvedev shrugged off a string of superb winners from De Minaur’s racket at the start of the second set but surrendered it tamely with an unforced error after taking a medical timeout for blisters on his foot midway through.
With the momentum shifting, the 25-year-old De Minaur blazed to a 5-1 lead en route to winning the third set before he traded breaks with Medvedev early in the fourth and pulled away shortly after for a famous win.
“I’m pretty happy, not going to lie,” said De Minaur, who beat a top-five player at a Grand Slam for the first time in his seventh attempt.
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“It was a great match. I fought till the end. I managed to beat a quality opponent in a Grand Slam fourth round, which is the goal I had been setting for myself, to go deeper at these events. I’m proud of myself.
“It’s one of my best Slam results. Looks like I’ve converted myself into a clay specialist.”
“Alex played better,” admitted Medvedev, who doubled-faulted on match point.
“To be honest, I’m disappointed to lose, but I don’t have anything to tell myself in a tough way like I was not, good attitude today or I was not fighting till the end. I did all of this. He played better.”
De Minaur will face either Alexander Zverev or Holger Rune in his second Slam quarter-final and first since the 2020 US Open.
