De Minaur downs Medvedev to reach French Open quarter-finals

Alex de Minaur defeated Daniil Medvedev on Monday (local time) to make the quarter-finals of the 2024 French Open, becoming the first Australian man in 20 years to do so.

The 25-year-old was a heavy underdog coming into the round of 16 match against the No.5 seed, having never made it this far in the clay Grand Slam before. Online bookmakers put him at +137 to win the match, and at an incredible +12500 to lift the trophy in Paris.

As he’s done consistently across his career, de Minaur defied the odds and unseated Medvedev in impressive fashion, winning in four sets, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3.

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Roland-Garros run a surprise for de Minaur

This year has been fantastic for de Minaur. He began with wins over three top-10 players in a row in the first week of the season, then topped it off with a final in Rotterdam and a title in Acapulco.

By the start of March, the Aussie had a win-loss record of 15-4 and had broken into the world’s top 10 for the first time. While this was a surprise for some, de Minaur’s prowess on hard courts is clear — he’s fast, has brilliant defence and isn’t afraid to come to the net.

What is a surprise, however, is his form on clay this year.

“It’s pretty extraordinary, if you ask me,” he said of his French Open run after defeating Medvedev.

“You know, I always thought that for me to play well on the clay I needed hot, lively conditions. But this whole tournament has proven otherwise, right?

“It’s been a complete shock to the system, to everything I ever believed in.

“Now it looks like it’s one of my best slam results — looks like I’ve converted myself into a clay specialist!”

De Minaur’s keys to victory against Medvedev

Key for de Minaur in his win over Medvedev — the Australian’s third in their nine meetings — was his defence of break points.

Medvedev had 10 opportunities to break de Minaur’s serve but was only successful on two occasions.

De Minaur, meanwhile, was much more clinical. He capitalised on the Russian’s relatively low first-serve percentage of 57 percent, breaking seven times from 14 opportunities across the four-set match.

The Aussie also played much more aggressive tennis, hitting 51 winners to Medvedev’s 27 and utilising the dropshot to good effect.

Next up, de Minaur will face Alexander Zverev in the French Open quarter-finals, with the German downing Holger Rune in five sets on Monday.

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