"Now toughest thing is dealing with my team" - Alex de Minaur jokes about becoming 'clay specialist' & losing bragging rights after French Open QF run
Alex de Minaur pulled off an upset at the 2024 French Open after bettering Daniil Medvedev on May 4. The Australian joked that he is now a clay court specialist after defeating a top-five player on the Parisian dirt.
Alex de Minaur, seeded No. 11, faced No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round of the 2024 French Open. The Russian comfortably took the first set, breaking the Australian once. However, the match turned on its head in the following two sets as de Minaur took apart Medvedev's game with incredible defense.
Both players exchanged breaks early in the fourth set. The status quo remained for a few more games before de Minaur shifted gears to break Medvedev twice to win the match 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 in two hours and 46 minutes.
In his post-match press conference, Alex de Minaur expressed delight at his level on the clay court and admitted that his campaign at the French Open has completely changed his perception of clay-court tennis.
“It’s pretty extraordinary, if you ask me. I always thought that for me to play well on the clay I needed hot, lively conditions. But, you know, this whole tournament has proven otherwise, right? It’s been a complete shock to the system, to everything I ever believed in," de Minaur said.
Moreover, the 25-year-old credited his team for putting up with his complaints when playing on clay and joked that they now hold the "bragging rights" after his maiden Roland Garros quarterfinal qualification. De Minaur also quipped that he is now a clay court "specialist."
"Now the toughest thing is dealing with my team. They’ve got bragging rights. They gave me a lot of slack for me complaining all these years of my level on the clay. But now it looks like this is one of my best slam results. Looks like I’ve converted myself into a clay specialist," he added.
Alex de Minaur becomes the first Australian man since Lleyton Hewitt to reach French Open QF
Alex de Minaur has become the first Australian man in 20 years to make it into the quarterfinals at the French Open. Lleyton Hewitt was the last Australian man to reach the Roland Garros last eight when he achieved the feat in 2004.
Hewitt was seeded No. 12 and defeated Arnaud di Pasquale, Jurgen Melzer, Martin Verkerk, and Xavier Malisse before losing to eventual champion Gaston Gaudio in the quarterfinal. At the 2024 French Open, Alex de Minaur has matched Hewitt's milestone by beating Alex Michelsen, Jaume Munar, Jan-Lennard Struff, and Daniil Medvedev.
The Australian will now face either No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev or No. 13 seed Holger Rune. This will be the second Grand Slam quarterfinal for Alex de Minaur after the 2020 US Open.