Alex de Minaur becomes first Australian since 2015 to reach men’s singles quarter-final at Australian Open

Australian, Alex de Minaur, beat Michelsen in the fourth round.

Alex de Minaur hammered Alex Michelsen in straight sets to secure a maiden quarter-final berth at the Australian Open. De Minaur remains the only Australian, alive in the competition, and has won his third encounter in straight sets.

The eighth seed is hoping to end a 49-year drought since Australia celebrated a local men’s winner. With his dominating triumph over the American, de Minaur is the first Australian to reach the men’s singles quarter-final at the Australian Open since Nick Kyrgios in 2015.

“It means the world. There’s nothing I want to do more than play well in Australia. I’m glad I’ve finally made it to the quarterfinals here. Let’s go for bigger and better things – come on.” said the ecstatic 25-year-old said after his victory.

De Minaur is also the first Australian to make four consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals since Lleyton Hewitt surged all the way to the 2005 Australian Open title match. However, a gigantic challenge awaits the Aussie as he prepares to take on top seed Jannik Sinner in the quarter-final round.

“It’s going to be an incredibly tough match and I’m going to have to do something I haven’t done before. But why not start here?” Sinner too sailed past Holger Rune in an extremely difficult battle. In a rare sight, the Italian struggled in the first two sets against Holger Rune and continued to be challenged by the Dane who exceeded expectations.

Though the 23-year-old eventually wrapped up the contest in four sets, the match showed everyone that Sinner isn’t invincible. However, all eyes will be glued to the blockbuster battle between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday.

For the first time since 2011, the Serbian enters the Rod Laver Arena as a non-favourite. In what could potentially be his final outing in Melbourne, the 24-time Grand Slam winner is expected to make the Spaniard toil hard for a semi-final berth.

In the WTA division, sixth seed and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina fell to Madison Keys in the fourth round. Struggling with a back injury, the Kazakh’s inability to move freely on court hindered her performance resulting in a three-set defeat.

The first four rounds of this year’s Australian Open has produced several upsets, with only three out of top six alive in the marquee event. As we head into the business end of the competition, high-voltage drama and action is on the cards.

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