Todd Woodbridge, Sam Stosur, Mark Philippoussis and Alicia Molik are all impressed with Alex de Minaur’s form at Wimbledon 2024.
London, Great Britain, 10 July 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Many former greats of Australian tennis are at the All England Club this week, watching on with pride as Alex de Minaur enjoys a career-best Wimbledon run.
We asked them to share their thoughts on De Minaur’s performance so far and rate his chances against world No.2 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
Todd Woodbridge
“I think he’s got possibly the best chance he’s had in his career to beat one of these big guys in a Slam,” said Woodbridge, a Wimbledon 1997 singles semifinalist.
“He really has played some great tennis. (His fourth round) was really impressive, because Arthur Fils can blow you away if you give him that opportunity, so tactically he played really, really smart. I guess the issue is coming up fit, but by all accounts, he’s fine.”
> READ: De Minaur battles into singles quarterfinals at Wimbledon 2024
The 10-time Wimbledon doubles champion noted that Djokovic’s confidence appeared to be rising, which would make him even tougher to beat.
“Alex is going to have to play the match of his life, but he has beaten him. He’s been in a quarterfinal before. All of the variables of experience are in his favour,” Woodbridge said. “It’s just whether he can turn up and play, as I said, the match of his life.”
An improved serving performance could boost De Minaur’s chances, according to the former world No.1 doubles player.
“The one element of his game that hasn’t been on point is first-serve percentages,” Woodbridge said. “He’s giving too many opportunities for the opponent on second serve. Novak is one of the greatest returners of all time, so he’s going to take advantage of that. That’s probably the key.
“The other part is working out how you’re going to make Novak move. You’ve got to test him all of the time with his movement.”
Sam Stosur
Stosur, who scored six top-10 wins across her illustrious Grand Slam singles career, believes De Minaur can beat Djokovic.
The US Open 2011 singles champion wants to see De Minaur take his chances and play with self-belief.
“I think he’s playing well enough at the moment that there’s going to be opportunities,” said Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup captain.
“It’s just whether he steps up in those moments, fully believes and commits to what he needs to do in that moment when he does get an opportunity. If he doesn’t, you probably know what is going to happen. So, there’s sort of no other choice than to back yourself.
“He’s going to have to play exceptionally well, but there’s maybe no better opportunity for him.”
> READ: De Minaur ready for Djokovic showdown at Wimbledon 2024
Mark Philippoussis
“Of course he can beat Djokovic. He’s got the game and the mentality to go against anyone,” said Philippoussis, a Wimbledon finalist in 2003.
“But Djokovic’s confidence is gaining with every match that he’s playing I believe. I think his confidence has also grown with his knee.
“(But) if you want to win a Grand Slam, you’ve got to play the best in the world and beat the best, and this guy is that.”
The two-time Davis Cup champion is pleased to see De Minaur adopting a more aggressive mindset this season.
“He’s playing some great tennis, some of the best tennis of his career,” Philippoussis said. “He’s inside the top 10, he’s playing with lots of confidence, he’s continuing to put pressure on the guys. We know the heart he has and the speed he has around the court, but the good thing is, which I believe is a big part of him getting into the top 10, is he is being more aggressive.
“He needed to be stepping in and I think he knows that he needs to start developing those weapons to put the pressure on, not just running and having incredible defense. He’s got some great offense and grass suits his game.”
> READ: De Minaur “feeling pretty decent” after injury scare at Wimbledon 2024
Philippoussis, who advanced to Wimbledon’s second week six times in his career, doesn’t believe De Minaur’s injury scare in the fourth round will be an issue.
“It’s normal for the second week at Wimbledon to be feeling niggling things on your muscles, because it’s tough the grass, you’re getting down low and coming into the net,” he explained. “It’s more on the muscles and the joints on the grass, so I’m sure lots of people would be feeling it now with little things here and there.”
Alicia Molik
“It’s pretty phenomenal, isn’t it?” Molik said of De Minaur’s recent performances. “I think he’s a completely different player now that he has full confidence.”
Molik, a former top-10 singles player and two-time Grand Slam doubles champion, believes De Minaur’s game is well-suited for grass-court success.
“He’s very much in the same mold as (Carlos) Alcaraz in terms of movement,” she said.
“(He is a) phenomenal mover on the grass and just his ability, I think, to adapt as well, to use his chip and slice (helps him). He’s just a really compact player with his swings, which is why I think he gives so many opponents so much difficulty. He just shuts them down with time.”
> READ: Jordan Thompson reflects on Alex de Minaur’s “unreal” rise
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