The epic 39-shot rally that helped sink Alex De Minaur

Alex de Minaur might have lost Thursday’s Roland-Garros quarter-final in straight sets, but there was one sliding-doors moment that possibly changed the course of the match.

After dropping the first set to Zverev and a service game early in the second set, the Demon immediately broke back, then took the early ascendancy in the tie-breaker.

Zverev clawed the tie-breaker scoreline back to 5-5, at which point the decisive moment of the match arrived.

The second set was just two points away for either player as they slugged out a gruelling 39-shot rally that drew gasps from the appreciative Roland-Garros crowd.

Both players started cautiously from the back of the court, waiting for the other to make a mistake, before de Minaur was drawn to the midcourt, where he made a deft drop-shot. Zverev, up to the task, reached the ball at the net, then produced a smart volley that forced de Minaur to hit his attempted lob wide.

“Somehow Zverev’s won that point. Can you believe that!” the commentators exclaimed.

“Take a bow both competitors there.”

Zverev managed to seal a two-sets-to-love lead on the next point, and while de Minaur kept fighting, the German was able to wrap it up in three.

Good morning everyone.

Today’s tennis blog comes to an end, and so does Alex de Minaur’s Roland-Garros tournament. The Australian made a bold run and can now boast two major quarter-final appearances.

It bodes well for his fortunes at Wimbledon in a few weeks.

Enjoy your day and thank you.

Australia’s ascending tennis star Alex de Minaur will return to the top 10 next week even though his brilliant Roland-Garros run ended in the quarter-finals.

De Minaur is projected to rise two spots to match his career-high ranking of No.9 after losing 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 to fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev in an engrossing contest that was far closer than the straight-sets scoreline suggested.

Alexander Zverev embraces Alex de Minaur at the net.Credit: Getty Images

The Sydneysider will regret not capitalising on a series of opportunities to gain a foothold in the match in the second set, from a set point on Zverev’s serve in the 12th game to 4-0 and 5-3 leads in the tiebreak.

De Minaur’s inability to win easy points on his first serve – which is improved but is still not a strength – proved a thorn in his side throughout the match, particularly in key moments.

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A tough end to a breakthrough fortnight for Alex de Minaur, who exits in straight sets knowing he could still be out there if he had capitalised on a series of chances, particularly late in the second set and in the tiebreak. This quarter-final loss to Alex Zverev was a reminder both of how far he has come but also where he still needs to improve, most notably somehow finding a way to get more cheap points on his first serve. It was never a winning recipe to rely on winning more second-serve points than off his first ball.

Demon belatedly switched that around by the end of the match but had to work so hard for almost every point in his service games. Encouragingly for his longer-term prospects, not even Zverev’s booming first serve proved too much to handle. He repeatedly challenged the German on return, which remains the heartbeat of his game.

De Minaur will climb two spots to an equal-career-high No.9 on Monday, putting him within reach of a top-eight seeding at Wimbledon in a few weeks’ time, particularly with Novak Djokovic in doubt after knee surgery. He is a strong grasscourt performer and will expect to go deep there, too.

Alex de Minaur’s Roland-Garros adventure is over for 2024.Credit: Getty

Australian Alex de Minaur, 25, now has two major quarter-finals to his credit. He lost in straight sets today to leading player, German Alexander Zverev, but there’s no doubt he’s a worthy member of the men’s top 10.

Alex de Minaur waves to the fans.Credit: AP

Alexander Zverev was overjoyed and buoyant in his on-court post-match interview. He’s played some marathon matches this tournament. And today’s encounter was hardly a breeze.

“Everybody in the press and everybody [else] keeps on asking me what do I do for recovery,” Zverev said. “My answer is always very simple - ‘you don’t recover after matches - you recover in the off-season’ ... you do the work in the off-season, and tennis becomes easy.

“I think, for me, I have a mindset that you have to work harder than everyone else to be the best player, and I think the best players are all doing that.

“I’m happy to be in another semi-final, hopefully I can win one.”

There were some ultra-decisive moments in the second set ’breaker, including when Zverev trailed 4-0. He emerged triumphant after a 39-shot rally and said, no, it didn’t leave him exhausted.

“No. Luckily, I have a coach who’s my father, who couldn’t care less how I feel on the practice court,” Zverev said.

“Since I’m three years old, it was always ‘OK, run here, run there, run for four hours straight’ and he sometimes forgets that I’m two metres tall and I can hit a serve 230km/h.

“But he definitely taught me the Spanish way, running for everything, putting the balls back in the court and sometimes it pays off.

“I wish I would be more aggressive sometimes, but if I’m winning, I’m happy and I’m in the semi-finals and that’s all that matters.”