Alex De Minaur sets up blockbuster Wimbledon quarter-finals clash with Novak Djokovic

Alex de Minaur has breezed into the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the first time — but he suffered an injury scare late in the match, and now faces a blockbuster clash with Novak Djokovic.

Alex de Minaur celebrates during his win over Arthur Fils. Picture: Getty Images

Alex de Minaur has reached into the quarter-finals of Wimbledon — where he will meet Novak Djokovic — for the first time with a superb victory over emerging French talent Arthur Fils but has an injury cloud hanging over his title hopes.

The Australian raced through the first four games before being challenged in the latter stages but was able to exact revenge for a recent loss to the exciting Fils in Barcelona when progressing 6-2 6-4 4-6 6-3 in 2hr 54min.

Despite a ferocious flurry from the Frenchman in the third set which forced him onto the back foot for a period, de Minaur produced his best performance to date for the fortnight as he progressed to his second straight quarter-final in a grand slam.

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But after producing an outstanding lunging volley to close the match, the Australian moved stiffly and celebrated in muted fashion, later saying he felt pain in the right hip in the final game. De Minaur had slid wide for a forehand on the first of his two match points.

In the stands, Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt could be seen rubbing his hip region as he and de Minaur made eye contact and on the court, when quizzed about a potential injury, the Australian said; “I’m all right. I will find a way through.”

Alex de Minaur has reached into the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the first time. Picture: Getty Images

The Australian came to press more than two hours after the match and downplayed any significant concerns when saying he was excited by his Wimbledon breakthrough.

“I’m feeling pretty decent. Again, my body went through a pretty physical match out there (and the) body 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,” he said.

“I just slid out to a forehand on my first match point. I felt like I jarred it a little bit. I kind of was a little bit ginger. Again, it’s probably a little bit of a scare more than anything. The situation was tight. In a way helped me relax and finish off the match.”

The 25-year-old will be seeking to break new ground again on Wednesday when he faces seven-time champion Novak Djokovic as he bids to make the semi-finals of a major for the first time.

"I'm excited to have another battle and give myself a shot"

We've got no doubt Alex de Minaur will bring his fighting best in the quarter-finals 🇦🇺 #Wimbledonpic.twitter.com/FYVooiYYof

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2024

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After reaching the last eight at Roland Garros last month and following that with a grass court title in the Netherlands, de Minaur has moved to a live ranking of six, which would be a career-high, though he can still be jumped by at least one rival positioned below him.

In a sign of his growing maturity, the former Wimbledon boys’ singles finalist was able to banish the ghosts of a couple of years ago when beaten by Cristian Garin in the same round in a match where he clinched the first two sets and held match points.

“It’s all about the little wins. My whole career has been about that, getting better every day, learning from tough experiences. I think that’s the key to becoming a better tennis player,” he said.

Alex De Minaur will face Novak Djokovic for a spot in Wimbledon’s final four. Picture: AFP

“I’ve taken a lot of the tough moments that I’ve gone through in my career, there’s only one way to look at it, and that’s learn from it. Us humans, we tend to be the only living thing that makes the same mistake twice. I’m glad I didn’t make that same mistake today.”

de Minaur is the second active Australian male to reach the quarter-finals of grand slams on three occasions, joining Nick Kyrgios, and the 20th Australian man in the Open era to reach the last eight at The AELTC.

In progressing to the last eight, he becomes the first Australian since Hewitt to reach the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year. But it was not the easiest of progressions, with de Minaur struggling to hold his serve in the latter stages.

Asked what he was most pleased about, de Minaur said; “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.

“I would love to just finish him (off). (But) whether I’m frustrated or not, the way I see it is I’m winning tennis matches. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter if it’s perfect, if it’s pretty, if it’s ugly or what it is.

“At the end of the day if I win the last point and I’m shaking my opponent’s hand and I have a big grin on my face, then it means I got the job done. 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.”

The crowd groaned when they learned de Minaur would face either Djokovic or Holger Rune next, prompting the Australian to quip; “That does not sound good.”

But he defeated Djokovic in the United Cup before falling in a tight match in Monte Carlo — and has vowed he will give it his best shot, despite the late injury concern.

“I am just excited to be in the quarter-finals. I am excited to have another battle. One thing you can definitely count on is me going out there, trying my hardest and playing my heart out,” he said.

Originally published as Alex De Minaur sets up blockbuster Wimbledon quarter-finals clash with Novak Djokovic