By Marc McGowan and Marnie Vinall
A sore hip could hinder Alex de Minaur’s famed ability to cover the court if it recurs during his Wimbledon quarter-final showdown with Novak Djokovic, according to retired Australian star John Millman.
De Minaur appeared to injure his hip at the end of his fourth-round triumph over rising French star Arthur Fils on Monday although he played down the scare afterwards.
He set up an intriguing clash with Djokovic, scheduled for Wednesday.
“His movement is really important, he is definitely one of the most elite movers on tour. So, it is important that his hip doesn’t hinder this and take away one of his key strengths,” Millman told this masthead.
“I’m fairly confident, however, he will be fine.
“Emilio [Poveda Pagan], his physio, knows Alex’s body inside out. He has a day-and-a-half to recover and will spend that time getting it right. If it is an issue, a few painkillers will help.”
De Minaur said after booking his maiden Wimbledon quarter-final spot that he felt sore, rather than injured.
“I just slid out to a forehand [and] felt like I jarred it a little bit. [My hip] kind of was a little bit ginger. It’s probably a little bit of a scare more than anything,” de Minaur said.
Alex de Minaur celebrates after beating Arthur Fils of France in the fourth round.Credit: Getty Images
“I’m feeling pretty decent. My body went through a pretty physical match out there [and] feels a little bit ginger everywhere – I’m not going to lie. I’ve done my recovery. I’m sure I’ll be feeling great tomorrow.”
The win against Fils laid to rest de Minaur’s ghosts of Wimbledons past.
Australia’s tennis torchbearer revealed on tournament eve that the pain of not capitalising on a match point against Cristian Garin to reach the quarter-finals in London two years ago still gnawed away at him.
De Minaur also ran into a rampant Matteo Berrettini last year and had to pack his bags by the second round.
They are nothing but memories now, with the world No.9 dousing Fils’ mid-match fire in a 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 triumph that propelled him into the last eight at the All England club for the first time.
Up next is a quarter-final date on Wednesday with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, who thumped Dane Holger Rune 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in barely two hours, in what looms as the biggest match of his life.
De Minaur dropped his first set of the fortnight, but responded with a break to start the fourth as he completed the job – despite some further ups and downs – to avoid a repeat of the Garin nightmare, which he admitted afterwards was playing on his mind.
The wide smile on his British girlfriend Katie Boulter’s face afterwards summed up the relief in Team Demon.
“I’m super proud of myself to be in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon,” de Minaur said, before joking that “getting over the finish line” was what he was happiest about.
“I definitely made it a lot harder than I probably should have, but I’m happy to get through, and I did a great job mentally to stay with it, even though I couldn’t hold my serve at the end and I just backed my return.
“I’m just excited to be in the quarter-finals and to have another battle, and give myself a shot. One thing you can definitely count on is me going out there trying my heart out.”
This was a mostly impressive performance outside a brief patch early in the second set – when de Minaur fell 3-0 behind – and that unexpected detour late in the third set, with the Australian nearing victory. But it was also the second-straight match he wobbled at the end.
“Whether I’m frustrated or not, the way I see it is I’m winning tennis matches,” de Minaur said.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s perfect, if it’s pretty, if it’s ugly or what it is … of course, as you go deeper in a tournament, you want to be playing better, you want to be executing a little bit better. That’s one of the areas that I can definitely improve on.”
Fils, who was visibly nervous in the first few games, performed his best impression of a roller coaster, with his power-packed highs exceptional but ruined by his penchant for loose, error-riddled service games.
The 34th-ranked showman produced a 15-minute explosion of blistering forehands from a break down in the third set to snatch the final three games and force a fourth set, followed by some conducting of a crowd desperate for more.
Another sloppy game to begin the fourth set left him playing catch-up, but he had chances in de Minaur’s next two service games to get back on serve, particularly when the Sydneysider’s forehand broke down in the fourth game.
De Minaur fell 0-40 behind before digging deep to win the next five points in a crucial moment.
The result seemed as good as sealed in the next game when de Minaur broke Fils again, poking a volley into the open court after a diving Fils could barely get back his rival’s well-struck down-the-line forehand pass.
Lleyton Hewitt rose to his feet in reaction, and de Minaur’s strength-and-conditioning coach Emilio Poveda Pagan also excitedly bounced out of his chair. Even then, de Minaur dropped serve twice more but was able to keep breaking Fils to seal his win, in what was a somewhat unconvincing finish.
The win elevates de Minaur to a career-high sixth in the live rankings, leapfrogging Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud.
Only Hewitt (No.1), John Newcombe (1), Pat Rafter (1), Ken Rosewall (2), Rod Laver (3) and Pat Cash (4) have been ranked higher among Australian men since the ATP Tour rankings began in 1973.
Fils had never been beyond the second round of a grand slam before this Wimbledon, whereas de Minaur has reached at least the last 16 at his past four majors, including a maiden Roland-Garros quarter-final last month.
The Australian Open is now the sole slam where Australia’s No.1 has not progressed to the last eight.
Alex de Minaur gestures after a fall.Credit: AP
He was agonisingly close to doing just that in January before Rublev rallied from two-sets-to-one down to pip him in five sets.
De Minaur has also captured two titles this year – in Acapulco and s’Hertogenbosch – and his strong form line is why countryman Alexei Popyrin predicted that his Davis Cup teammate could win Wimbledon.
One thing is certain: de Minaur’s confidence has never been greater. He has spoken about noticing an “aura” developing around him when other players step onto the court against him.
That much was obvious when Fils said after booking his clash with de Minaur: “He’s one of the fastest guys I know. It’s like if I want to hit one winner, I will have to hit three winners against him.”
Fils’ fears played out on Wimbledon’s court one as the Australian used stout defence, dynamic speed, Hewitt-like accuracy on his lob and various angles to repeatedly frustrate his opponent.
That perceived pressure undoubtedly contributed to Fils’ 66 unforced errors – 25 more than de Minaur’s tally despite only one winner separating them.
Marc McGowan is at Wimbledon with the support of Tennis Australia.
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