Alex de Minaur one of just three Australians to advance to Wimbledon second round

Just three Australians will fly the flag into the second round at Wimbledon as the absence of Ash Barty and Nick Kyrgios continues to bite.

It took two days for Alex de Minaur to progress to just the second round of Wimbledon, as rain and light issues stretched the tournament’s opening week.

The delayed cheer for his victory was one of only three for Australians, however, with Jason Kubler and Chris O’Connell the only others to join de Minaur in tasting opening round success as numbers dwindled quickly at the year’s third Grand Slam.

Those three are the survivors form a starting tally of 10 Australians, eight men and just two women, with de Minaur barely dodging a fifth set as he was challenged by Belgian qualifier Kimmer Coppejans before triumphing 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) in a match carried over from a day earlier.

“I was very impressed with his level throughout the whole match and he made it tough in every stage,” said De Minaur, who made the final at the Queen’s Club in the lead-up to Wimbledon.

“He came out to play. I think he played way above his level today and yesterday. I’m very happy to manage to navigate my way through a tough first round.”

Alex de Minaur overcame a tough first round match. Picture: Michael Regan/Getty Images

The victory sets up a second round clash with 2021 Wimbledon finalist, Italian Matteo Berrettini, as de Minaur aims to improve on last year’s career-best performance where he progressed to the fourth round.

“He’s obviously a very dangerous player who has played some great tennis here. He’s got a massive serve, massive forehand, great slice, so (a) very tricky, tricky opponent,” said de Minaur of the Italian, who sits at world No.38 after a difficult period with injury.

“(He’s) one of those unseeded guys who you probably didn’t want in your section but hey, I knew this coming in. I knew I had a tough section, so I’m looking forward to the battle.”

Kubler took two days and five sets to take down world No.39 Ugo Humber, while O’Connell, playing for a third straight day, had a relatively easier time in a four-set win over Serbian qualifier Hamad Medjedovic.

The absence of injured star Nick Kyrgios, a Wimbledon finalist last year, through the opening three grand slams of 2023 has hit the Australian hunt for success, with de Minaur’s fourth-round appearance at the Australian Open and Thanasi Kokkinakis’ run to the third round at the French Open the best results so far in 2023.