‘Strange’ Alex de Minaur act rocks Wimbledon: ‘Looks like he saw a ghost’

It should have been one of the most exciting moments of Alex de Minaur’s career. Instead, he didn’t celebrate at all - and it’s a huge concern.

Alex de Minaur sent shockwaves through Australian tennis after punctuating his best ever result at Wimbledon in the worst possible way.

While lunging to make the volley that secured him match point in a 6-2 6-4 4-6 6-3 win against young Frenchman Arthur Fils, de Minaur’s foot stuck in the grass.

It appeared to tweak something - potentially in his hip - and he limped as he left the court.

Instead of smiles and fist pumps to celebrate reaching a blockbuster quarterfinal against Novak Djokovic, the 25-year-old Australian sat down and stared at his player box with a discouraging look on his face.

It ignired a firestorm of concern in the tennis world, with one observer describing the moment as “strange” and another saying “it looks like (de Minaur) saw a ghost”.

An official checked on Alex de Minaur after the match. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Alex de Minaur did not celebrate his fourth round win and looked at his player box in a concerned manner.

Asked if there was an injury issue during his on-court interview, de Minaur said: “I’ll be all right. I’ll find a way.”

It was a troubling finish to a seasoned performance by the red-hot baseliner, who became just the second Aussie since 1978 to make the quarters of the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year.

Lleyton Hewitt, who watched from the stands after his son Cruz had served as de Minaur’s warm-up partner, was the other to do it in 2004.

That says a lot about how much de Minaur has improved this season - and the result went some way to erasing the pain of his 2022 exit here.

Alex de Minaur is into the final eight. Picture: Glyn Kirk/AFP

Two years ago, de Minaur took a two sets-to-love lead against Cristian Garin in their fourth round contest before losing in five.

Nervous Aussie tennis fans were fearing a repeat after he raced through the first two sets against Fils and was up a break in the third before the 20-year-old unleashed his powerful forehand and began to turn the match.

Despite continuing to struggle on serve in the fourth set, de Minaur’s return game was sensational and spared him any moments of real concern.

“I’m super proud of myself,” said de Minaur, before being asked what he was most pleased with on the day.

“Getting over the finish line,” he replied, with a smile. “I definitely made it a lot harder than I probably should have (but it was) a great job to mentally stay with it. Even though at the end I couldn’t serve, I backed my return.”

De Minaur was fired up. Picture: Sean M. Haffey/Getty

Arthur Fils’ serve fell apart in the fourth set. Picture: Sean M. Haffey/Getty

De Minaur - who is now No. 6 in the live world rankings - will now face seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic.

The 24-time grand slam winner delivered an emphatic 6-3 6-4 6-2 win against 16th seed Holger Rune to send a clear message to any one doubting his ability to win an eighth title.

But de Minaur has never been better placed to make his first grand slam semi after showcasing the form of his life in 2024. If he’s fully fit.

He sounded more upbeat in his post-match press conference, saying he believed the incident was more of a scare than a real injury. “I’ve done my recovery and I’m sure I’ll be feeling great tomorrow,” he said.

American Taylor Fritz will meet Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the final eight after both progressed overnight.

Fritz continued Alexander Zverev’s miserable history with Wimbledon by fighting back from two sets down in a 4-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win. Zverev has never made it past the round of 16 on the grass grand slam.

Lorenzo Musetti defeated France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-2 in the first men’s match on the schedule.

Wimbledon men’s singles quarter-final line-up

Jannik Sinner (ITA) v Daniil Medvedev (RUS)

Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) v Tommy Paul (USA)

Taylor Fritz (USA) v Lorenzo Musetti (ITA)

Novak Djokovic (SRB) v Alex de Minaur (AUS)

Originally published as ‘Strange’ Alex de Minaur act rocks Wimbledon: ‘Looks like he saw a ghost’