Fils is the next stumbling block for de Minaur after another Frenchman, Lucas Pouille, handed the Australian a walkover because of an abdominal injury he sustained against Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round.
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De Minaur is wary about the threat Fils poses, after losing to him in straight sets on Barcelona’s clay in April, then watching him eliminate seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz and 2023 quarter-finalist Roman Safiullin in his past two matches.
“Fils is coming with a lot of confidence, obviously beating ‘Hubi’, which is a very good win on this surface,” de Minaur said.
“He’s got a big game, big groundstrokes. In previous years, I probably wouldn’t have thought he would have enjoyed the grass as much. But he’s obviously enjoying it quite well, and feeling comfortable on it, so he’s going to be very tricky – he’s got a great serve as well, and he’s an overall great athlete.”
However, Fils, one of two 20-year-old French players in Wimbledon’s last 16, along with 203-centimetre lucky loser Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, said that Barcelona result would count for little in the rematch on grass.
“We played on clay, so it’s completely different. It’s going to be a good match. He’s one of the best on the surface, for sure,” Fils said after rallying from two-sets-to-one down against Safiullin.
“Let’s see if I can win this one, but it’s not going to be easy at all. He’s one of the fastest guys I know. It’s like if I want to hit one winner, I will have to hit three winners against him, so it’s going to be very interesting.
“Of course, everyone knows that he’s fast, but he is also super clever on the court. He’s doing unbelievably since the start of the year, so it’s not going to be easy.”
There is added motivation to advance to a maiden Wimbledon quarter-final for de Minaur, who retains bitter memories of losing from two sets up and having two match points in the fifth set against Chilean Cristian Garin.
“That was still, to this moment, a tough, tough moment,” he said.
Alex de Minaur has had a brilliant year.Credit: AP
“But I think I’m a different player now. I think I’ve got the weapons that maybe a couple of years ago, I needed a little bit of luck with draws and match-ups to kind of squeeze my way in there. I feel like maybe this year I can kind of create it on my own terms.”
Going a step further at SW19 this year would also mean the Australian Open is the sole major where he has not made the last eight.
De Minaur led Andrey Rublev by two sets to one in the fourth round in Melbourne in January, only for the Russian to hit his way out of trouble.
Doubles legend Mark Woodforde, who won six Wimbledon titles with Todd Woodbridge and booked a last-16 berth in singles three times, believes there is a significant opportunity for de Minaur this fortnight.
“Seeing Hurkacz step out, it’s a gap [in the draw],” Woodforde told this masthead.
“Probably for Demon, because he’s squeezed into the top 10, a result here just puts a stake in the ground – I’m here to stay.
“He’s almost like a silent assassin now, a ninja, because there’s a lot of focus on other players, bigger players, bigger names, some bigger games, and he’s silently just going through.”
Alcaraz, Sinner advance
Defending men’s champion Carlos Alcaraz and world No.1 Jannik Sinner remain on a semi-final collision course as New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun ended Emma Raducanu’s title assault.
Raducanu was not the only big name to exit, with No.2 seed Coco Gauff falling 6-4, 6-3 to fellow American Emma Navarro to continue the seeded carnage in the women’s draw. Elena Rybakina, the 2022 champion, is the highest-ranked player left.
Alcaraz, the No.3 seed, survived a third-set lapse to defeat 16th-seeded Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 and advance to the quarter-finals.
Queen’s Club champion Tommy Paul is Alcaraz’s last-eight opponent after sweeping aside Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.
Sinner, who next faces Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, beat American 14th seed Ben Shelton 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (11-9) as he hunts his maiden Wimbledon title.
Medvedev advanced when 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov retired due to injury while trailing 5-3, after being the latest player to slip on the grass three games earlier.
American Madison Keys, the 12th seed, also retired from her match against Roland-Garros runner-up Jasmine Paolini with a thigh issue.
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Keys was 5-2 up in the final set but lost the next three games before calling it quits, with Paolini to face Navarro, who has won all three of their meetings.
Sun’s 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over British wildcard and 2021 US Open winner Raducanu was the headline-grabbing news of the day.
“It was a great match against her, and she really dug deep to get the win from me, so I really had to fight tooth and nail,” Sun said, wiping away tears.
“I don’t even have the words right now but … I’m just super happy. To be able to play on this court in front of all of you is such an amazing experience.”
Sun’s quarter-final opponent is Croatia’s Donna Vekic, who outlasted Paula Badosa 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.
Marc McGowan is at Wimbledon with the support of Tennis Australia.
Watch Wimbledon 2024 from July 1 live and exclusively free on Nine and 9Now with every match streaming ad-free, live and on demand with centre court in 4K on Stan Sport.
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