Alex de Minaur has described his quarterfinal run at Roland Garros 2024 as “pretty extraordinary”.
The 25-year-old Australian had never previously progressed beyond the second round in Paris, but now finds himself among the final eight contenders vying for this year’s men’s singles title at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament.
“I always thought that for me to play well on the clay I needed hot, lively conditions,” De Minaur said after recording the biggest Grand Slam win of his career against world No.5 Daniil Medvedev.
“But, you know, this whole tournament has proven otherwise, right? It’s been a complete shock to the system, to everything I ever believed in.”
After closing out a four-set victory against Medvedev, which was his first top-five win at Grand Slam level and on clay, De Minaur turned to his team and yelled: “I love the clay. I love it here. I can’t get enough.”
Making his 26th appearance in a Grand Slam main draw, this marks just the second time De Minaur has reached the quarterfinals.
It equals his career-best result, having also advanced to the quarterfinal stage at the US Open in 2020.
“I think so much, in my opinion, of Grand Slam tennis is just experience,” De Minaur explained.
“Ultimately you can put in all the work in the world, and I believe I’m one to do so, but how you conserve energy, how you use your energy in these long, gruelling five-set matches, there’s a lot to learn from.
“As you play more, the body gets used to it more, and it’s not just the fact that you play a gruelling match and, you know, you can be there for however long it takes. It’s about how you bounce back for the next round. That’s probably what my body has now started to get used to.”
With his stirring run, De Minaur becomes the first Australian to reach a men’s singles quarterfinal at Roland Garros in 20 years.
AUSTRALIAN QUARTERFINALISTS AT ROLAND GARROS (Open Era)
“It’s great. It’s amazing. It’s a great position to be in,” he noted.
“It’s not just myself. I think the whole country is showing what we can do, and the strength of the nation is extremely exciting.”
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The world No.11 will carry his newfound confidence into a quarterfinal showdown against either world No.4 Alexander Zverev or world No.13 Holger Rune on Wednesday.
“I’m a clay specialist now,” an upbeat De Minaur jokingly told media.