Alex de Minaur declares himself a lucky man as he heads into week two at Wimbledon from the comfort of his armchair.
The Australian number one has eased into the second week of a grass-court Grand Slam for the second time, having previously only needed a straight-sets win to ease into the tournament.
After Lucas Pouille withdrew due to injury, “The Devil” has never been rewarded with an easy win in his 74 Grand Slam singles career and believes this is the easiest experience he has ever had heading into the final stages of his career. of.
While many of his opponents, including fourth-round opponent Arthur Fels, suffered frustrating delays on another rainy day, De Minaur suffered a stomach muscle injury against third-round opponent Pouje. After withdrawing injured, he enjoyed an easy Saturday.
De Minaur ultimately praised the “first-class performance” of the former France No. 1, who was given three-quarters of an hour’s notice before he came on Saturday morning that he would be withdrawing from the game.
“Yeah, I’m very lucky indeed. Maybe the most concerning times are when the weather is bad, like today or even tomorrow,” said De Minaur, who has reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the fourth consecutive time and is now the best. The popular player reaches the quarter-finals for the first time at SW19.
“So I’m definitely lucky that this happened and I can just relax and look forward to the next game and prepare a little bit for that.
“I went from having to have a long, fitful day in court to being able to move on very quickly and get ready for the next game.”
De Minaur said he found out about the news at around 9.15am when he was warming up before taking the field and Pouille, 30, personally approached him to let him know he was not fit to play.
De Minaur said: “I think it was a class act on his part and he let me know early in the morning, especially with the weather forecast saying the game could be delayed for a long time.”
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“I wish him a speedy recovery. And for me, I’m probably a little bit relieved. Just because everyone knows the day is coming, it’s going to be a long day, and I’m able to get it done quickly.
De Minaur’s next opponent will be Fiers, the exciting 20-year-old French world No. 34 who faces Russia’s No. 44 Roman Safiu in a rain-interrupted match Lin fought for three and a half hours to achieve four wins.
For De Minaur, reaching the fourth round has now become commonplace. One sign that the Australian is starting to feel like he belongs among the elite is that he has now accomplished the feat just twice in the last 11 majors , now entering its second week.
So far, he’s made it look comfortable. De Minaur recorded two three-set wins in his first two matches against fellow Australian James Duckworth and Spain’s Jaume Molnar.
“It’s a great start going into the second week and I’m looking forward to pushing for more,” De Minaur said. “The first week is about doing whatever it takes to stay alive, right? Once you get through the first week, I feel like it’s a whole new ballgame.
“As I’ve said for a long time, this is where I want to be.”
