WATCH: Alex de Minaur suffers freak injury at Wimbledon, limps concerningly after beating Arthur Fils to reach maiden QF
Alex de Minaur got the better of Arthur Fils in the fourth round at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships and advanced to his maiden quarterfinal at the grass Major. The Aussie, however, limped in a concerning manner right after he lunged to convert match point.
De Minaur entered Wimbledon 2024 in fine form after reaching the last eight in the French Open and winning the Libema Open in 's-Hertogenbosch
At Wimbledon, he won his first two matches in straight sets. In the third round, for the first time in his Grand Slam career, De Minaur received a walkover after Lucas Pouille’s stomach injury. Arthur Fils awaited the Aussie to fight for a place in the last eight on Monday, July 8.
De Minaur comfortably won the first two sets but the young Frenchman made a strong comeback to win the third. However, the Aussie finished the proceedings in the fourth set and exacted revenge for his loss in Barcelona in April. He won the match 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in 2 hours and 54 minutes to advance into the last eight at Wimbledon.
At match point, De Minaur lunged to reach the ball which was far away from him. He played the shot successfully and earned the point to win the match. However, the seemingly awkward lunge forced him to limp concerningly and engage in muted celebrations.
Watch the final seconds of the fourth-round tie below:
Alex de Minaur confident of being fit for maiden Wimbledon QF - "I’ll be alright"
During his post-match interview, Alex de Minaur was asked about the limp and potential injury that he suffered after winning the final point. The Aussie responded positively.
“I’ll be alright. I will find a way,” he said.
Alex de Minaur is the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt who has reached the last eight of both French Open and Wimbledon in the same season. The most pleasing thing about the match for the Aussie was "getting over the finish line.”
"I definitely made it a lot harder than I probably should if. It was a great job mentally to stay with it, even though at the end I could not hold my serve, but I just backed my returns,” he said.
Up next for the 25-year-old is the tough challenge of facing the winner between seven-time Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic and 15th-seeded Dane Holger Rune. He faced Djokovic twice so far in 2024, beating him at the United Cup while losing to him in the quarterfinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters.