By Marc McGowan
Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis has added to the chorus of concern around Alex de Minaur’s hip setback ahead of his blockbuster quarter-final with Novak Djokovic.
There was silence from the de Minaur camp on Tuesday, a day after he “jarred” his hip sliding to hit a forehand on the first of his two match points against Frenchman Arthur Fils.
De Minaur did not schedule a practice session on Wimbledon’s outdoor or indoor courts on another rain-soaked London day, which is not unusual at this stage of a major but adds to the mystery around the severity of his ailment.
Speaking to reporters two hours after beating Fils on Monday, the Australian world No.9 said his hip was “a little bit ginger” but he hoped the incident was “a scare more than anything”.
Philippoussis, who played in two Davis Cup titles for Australia, believes de Minaur can beat Djokovic and is impressed with his willingness to play more aggressively, which has helped transform him into a top-10 star.
However, he remains wary about the hip issue that could impact de Minaur’s chances against Djokovic.
“I was just a little worried at the end of the match … it was not the celebration you would think going into a quarter-final,” Philippoussis said.
“But I know it’s normal for the second week of Wimbledon to be feeling niggly things on your muscles because it’s tough; the grass – getting down low, coming into the net. It’s more on the muscles than the joints on the grass, so I’m sure lots of people will be feeling it now, with little things here and there.”
Fellow Australian great Todd Woodbridge shared Philippoussis’ concern, but the vision of de Minaur cautiously trudging around court one after sealing his victory over Fils, as well as his post-match comments, are all anyone can use to form an opinion outside Team Demon.
Roger Federer defeated Australian Mark Philippoussis to win the men’s singles final at Wimbledon in 2003.Credit: AP
“I think he’s got possibly the best chance he’s had in his career to beat one of these big guys in a slam tournament. He really has played some great tennis,” Woodbridge said.
“[Monday’s performance] was really impressive because Arthur Fils can blow you away if you give him that opportunity, so tactically he played really, really smart.
“I guess the issue is just coming up fit. By all accounts, he’s fine, so that’s good, but that match point was very awkward. But Novak got better [against Holger Rune], and as Novak tends to do, if he can get himself into tournaments, his level is rising.
“Alex is going to have to play the match of his life, but he has beaten him, he’s been in a quarter before – all of the variables of experience are in his favour. It’s just whether he can turn up and play, as I said, the match of his life.”
Woodbridge said de Minaur’s first-serve percentage of 53 this tournament would need to improve if he were to cause a boilover, and that he would need to figure out how to make Djokovic move, given the former world No.1 was only a month removed from knee surgery.
“Alex is a great mover. But on grass, one of the key things is getting the opponent forward, and getting them back behind, and going in behind because they are the movements where you can tweak knees,” he said.
“It sounds nasty, but you know what? We’re here to win.”
The other intangible is the crowd after Djokovic’s extraordinary reaction to certain fans he felt were disrespecting him during his straight-sets defeat of Rune in the previous round.
Alex de Minaur is preparing for the biggest match of his life.Credit: Getty Images
The British media have adopted de Minaur, whose girlfriend is local star Katie Boulter, since the nation’s last title chance, Emma Raducanu, exited the tournament. But Philippoussis warned his countryman against doing anything to rile up Djokovic.
“To be honest, I was doing something and watching the match on mute, so I could see him on the change of ends doing something, and I was like, ‘OK, something’s happening, someone’s pissed him off’, which is a bad idea,” Philippoussis said.
“You don’t want to piss off Novak. I think he wants to hear ‘boo’, to be honest with you, because it makes him play better.
“If I were to play him, I would just give him compliments on a change of ends. I don’t want to piss that guy off, that’s for sure.”
De Minaur, who will represent Australia at the Olympic Games in Paris, has withdrawn from the Gstaad Open in Switzerland, which starts on July 15.
Daniil Medvedev and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will face off in the Wimbledon semi-finals for the second straight year after both advanced on Tuesday.
Medvedev put paid to world No.1 Jannik Sinner’s bid to win a maiden Wimbledon trophy in a rematch of their Australian Open final, winning 6-7 (9-11), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-3 across four hours. He now gets his shot at revenge against Alcaraz, who trounced the big Russian for the loss of only nine games in their 2023 clash.
“Mentally, it was a good match today because I actually didn’t think about the match in Australia,” Medvedev said. “I was not [thinking] before the fifth set, ‘Oh, my God, it’s again five sets’. I was there to fight, to do my best. I was only thinking about it in a good way to prepare tactically.”
Alcaraz also had to come from behind in his quarter-final to oust this year’s Queen’s Club champion Tommy Paul, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
On the women’s side, New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun’s unlikely campaign came to an end at Donna Vekic’s hands, with the Pam Shriver-coached Croatian booking her first grand slam semi-final with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 victory.
Vekic’s semi-final opponent is Italian Jasmine Paolini, who gave herself an opportunity to make consecutive major finals when she overcame an 0-3 head-to-head record to demolish American Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-1.
Marc McGowan is at Wimbledon with the support of Tennis Australia.
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