Aussie tennis star Alex De Minaur sets up blockbuster against seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic
A year since his hopes of meeting the seven-time champion in the quarter-final were cruelly dashed by injury, Australia's main man has been left thrilled to finally land his big shot in a last-16 blockbuster set for a Centre Court slot.
De Minaur reckoned he had been forced to bring his best tennis to get past an 'extremely dangerous' third-round opponent, Danish qualifier August Holmgren 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-3, in a hugely entertaining Saturday afternoon clash.
But he's now pumped up for a fourth-round duel with the great sixth seed Djokovic, who looked in ominously supreme form as he breezed past Serbian compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3 6-0 6-4 for his landmark 100th Wimbledon singles triumph.
De Minaur and Jordan Thompson are now the last two Aussies standing out of the 17 original starters after women's No.1 Daria Kasatkina had bowed out earlier, beaten, somewhat ironically, by former Russian teammate Liudmila Samsonova 6-2 6-3.
'It's funny how life works. It was a brutal time for me last year having to deal with all of those emotions, but here we are a year later feeling good, ready to go, and I'm going to get my chance again,' said de Minaur.
'Now I'm getting to play Novak on one of his favourite, if not his favourite, surfaces and his favourite tournament. So it's going to be the ultimate challenge, and I'm excited for it.'
Twelve months ago, 'Demon' had been in spectacular form when right at the end of his victory over Frenchman Arthur Fils in the fourth round , he suffered the season-compromising hip injury that prevented him meeting the 24-time grand slam champ in the last-eight.
But the 26-year-old is looking sharper again since a refreshing break, evidenced by how he finally ended the fairytale of Holmgren, who had saved three match points in his final qualifying match and three more in his second-round victory over 21st seed Tomas Machac.
No.11 seed de Minaur may have been a bit worried about the drama of tackling little-known world No.192, a US university graduate in theatre arts and performance studies who serves big, attacks boldly and whose run has been like something compatriot Hans Christian Andersen might have penned.
Armed with a serve that delivered 61 aces throughout the Championships, he played with real swagger and came up with what de Minaur called 'clutch tennis'.
'He's got an unbelievable serve, a great forehand. He takes the racquet out of your hand, and when he's playing with a lot of confidence, it makes a very tricky opponent. I had to bring some of my best tennis, especially in those tough moments. He's had a hell of a tournament.'
'Demon' broke just the once in the opener at 4-4 and the prospect of Holmgren levelling up in the second was very much alive as they contested a tight second-set tiebreak until de Minaur got lucky with a serve that kicked up off the chalk to earn set point and Holmgren then produced a deflating double fault.
Somewhat relieved, de Minaur looked to have got his man, and another double from Holmgren gave him the key break for 4-2 before he went on to seal victory in two hours 21 minutes.
But Kasatkina's dream of a barnstorming run in her first Wimbledon in Australian colours was shattered as she delivered a flat display against the big-hitting 19th seed Samsonova, her teammate in Russia's Billie Jean King Cup-winning outfit back in 2021, in a rain-interrupted affair.
It was a fairly tame and deflating end with 16th seed Kasatkina suffering the same fate against the rising 26-year-old Samsonova that young Australian star Maya Joint had endured in the opening round.
Not even a two-hour rain break when she was a set and 2-0 down could revive Kasatkina's fortunes as she succumbed in just over and hour and a quarter, sunk by 22 blistering winners from her old colleague.
'Of course, I think I could do better on my side, but I also have to give her credit, she played a very, very good match,' said Kasatkina, who'll be making her first visit to Australia since being granted permanent citizenship in the next few days.
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