
A gallant effort by Alex de Minaur wasn’t enough to topple world No.4 Alexander Zverev as the Aussie succumbed to a 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-4 straight sets defeat.
Seven years and 15 matches later, de Minaur stepped onto Philippe-Chatrier for the first time in his career - facing a player full of confidence on the clay.
Zverev looked more comfortable early on as he took the opening set with minimal fuss, despite de Minaur slowly growing into the match.
A carbon copy of the first set eventuated when de Minaur immediately broke midway through - sending it to a tiebreak as the 25-year-old will have regrets after finding himself 4-0 up to then lose seven of the next eight points.
At 5-5 in the breaker, the momentum fully swung in the German’s favour as a gruelling 39-shot rally helped him unlock the mini-break and take a two-set lead.
Not Zverev’s best service performance by his standards, his return game was pivotal as de Minaur blinked first in the third set to trail 2-4 and ultimately end his journey shortly afterwards.
Casper Ruud, off the back of extra rest after the withdrawal of Novak Djokovic, will meet Zverev in a fascinating semi-final filled with contrasting styles.
It will be natural disappointment for de Minaur with a great chance gone begging, but he will re-enter the top 10 when Monday’s official rankings are released.
Meanwhile, in the bottom half of the women’s draw, two insane upsets took centre stage - much to the delight of Iga Swiatek.
No.12 seed Jasmine Paolini raced out to the best start possible to break in the opening game and settle with a 2-0 lead, ferociously striking the ball with venom.
A shell-shocked and flustered Elena Rybakina looked all over the place and found herself 2-6, 3-4, 40-15 down before capitalising on Paolini’s nerves to level it up.
46 unforced errors wasn’t enough to overcome for Rybakina as Paolini reached her first Grand Slam semi-final and will now enter the world’s top 10 thanks to a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 triumph.
The upsets didn’t stop there, with 17-year-old sensation Mirra Andreeva fighting back from a set down to upset world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka 5-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 in a two-hour and 29-minute epic.
Coming into the match, Sabalenka was yet to drop a set in Grand Slam tennis in 2024, but Andreeva’s movement and ball striking were too much to handle to set up an underdog semi-final storyline.
Rohan Bopanna and Aussie Matt Ebden won a three-set battle in the quarters to win 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-1 to force an Australian Open final rematch with Italian duo Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori tonight.
Singles' semi-final action on the women’s side will play out with the hotly anticipated matchup between Swiatek and Coco Gauff the marquee drawcard.
The American will aim to create a boil-over of her own and meet either Andreeva or Paolini in the decider.
תגובות