Alex de Minaur is among 10 Australians scheduled to compete on day eight at Wimbledon 2024.
London, Great Britain, 8 July 2024 | Leigh Rogers
As Alex de Minaur looks to advance to the Wimbledon quarterfinals for a first time, he knows he can’t underestimate his fourth-round opponent.
The world No.9 is expecting a battle when he meets Frenchman Arthur Fils at No.1 Court on day eight at Wimbledon 2024.
“He’s coming in with a lot of confidence,” De Minaur noted of the world No.34, who is enjoying a career-best run at a Grand Slam tournament.
“He’s got a big game, big groundstrokes. He’s going to be very tricky, he’s got a great serve and he’s an overall great athlete.”
Fils has proven he is capable of causing major upsets too, notching his third career top-10 win with a four-set triumph against world No.7 Hubert Hurkacz in the second round.
De Minaur acknowledged it was “a very good win on this surface”.
Fils was equally complimentary ahead of their fourth-round showdown, describing De Minaur as “one of the toughest opponents in the draw”.
“He’s one of the fastest guys I know,” said Fils, who has won 10 of the 14 professional grass-court matches he has contested. “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 unbelievable since the start of the year, so it’s not going to be easy.”
> READ: Popyrin believes De Minaur “can go all the way” at Wimbledon 2024
Fils is not taking too much confidence from his straight-sets win against the 25-year-old Australian in their only previous meeting, which was at an ATP 500 tournament in Spain in April.
“We played on clay, so it’s completely different,” Fils noted. “He’s one of the best on this surface (grass) for sure, so I’m going to try my best. Let’s see if I can win this one, but it’s not going to be easy at all.”
De Minaur is among 10 Australians scheduled to compete on day eight, with a strong contingent featuring in the doubles and junior events.
Wimbledon is broadcast live in Australia on the Nine Network and Stan Sport, with coverage beginning from 7.30pm AEST.
Aussies in action on day eight:
Men’s singles, fourth round
[9] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Arthur Fils (FRA), No.1 Court, first match (from 10pm AEST)
Men’s doubles, third round
[15] Max Purcell (AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS) v John-Patrick Smith (AUS)/Andreas Mies (GER), Court 14, second match
Mixed doubles, first round
[1] Matt Ebden (AUS)/Ellen Perez (AUS) v Andres Molteni (ARG)/Asia Muhammad (USA), No.2 Court, third match
John Peers (AUS)/Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) v [3] Mate Pavic (CRO)/Lyudmyla Kichenok (UKR), Court 14, third match
Max Purcell (AUS)/Dayana Yastremska (UKR) v Nathaniel Lammons (USA)/Ena Shibahara (JPN), Court 17, fourth match
Girls’ singles, first round
[3] Emerson Jones (AUS) v [Q] Shiho Tsujioka (JPN), Court 8, third match
Boys’ doubles, first round
Hayden Jones (AUS)/Pavle Marinkov (AUS) v [5] Marko Maksimovic (SRB)/Theo Papamalamis (FRA), Court 11, fifth match
> VIEW: Full Wimbledon 2024 day eight schedule
Find your way to play: Visit play.tennis.com.au to get out on court and have some fun!