Ninth seed Alex de Minaur is leading the Aussie charge in the men’s singles competition at Wimbledon 2024.
London, Great Britain, 4 July 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Alex de Minaur’s rapid improvement this season can be measured in many ways.
From his ranking, which peaked at world No.7 last month, to stunning results, such as two title-winning runs and five top-10 wins.
Another key marker of his success was achieved at Wimbledon today, with the 25-year-old Australian posting his eighth Grand Slam singles win of the season.
This matches the most that De Minaur has recorded in a calendar year across his professional career and is the first time he’s reached this number in just the third major tournament of the season.
The promising news for De Minaur is there’s still plenty of opportunity to add to his tally as well.
Yet to drop a set at Wimbledon in 2024, the top-ranked Australian secured his spot in the third round with a commanding 6-2 6-2 7-5 victory against Spaniard Jaume Munar at Court 12.
“Very happy with the level,” De Minaur said of his performance. “Played great. I’m feeling really good.”
De Minaur looked on track to record his most dominant victory ever at the All England Club, when he held three match points on Munar’s serve at 5-3 in the third set. However, his 27-year-old opponent fought back to level at five-all.
Forced to dig deep, De Minaur won eight of the next 11 points to close out a straight-sets victory after two hours and three minutes on court.
“It’s never easy closing a match out,” De Minaur said. “(But) very happy to get the win today.”
This is De Minaur’s fourth consecutive win against the world No.63, who he also beat in the second round at Roland Garros a few weeks ago.
This is the third time that De Minaur has progressed to the third round at the All England Club. His best result at the prestigious grass-court Grand Slam is a fourth-round appearance in 2022.
“It’s special playing here at Wimbledon, so I’m going to do my best and hopefully I can go deep,” said De Minaur, who faces French qualifier Lucas Pouille next.
Pouille, a former top-10 player and Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2016, advanced when a knee injury forced Thanasi Kokkinakis to retire mid-way through their second-round match.
There was better news for Alexei Popyrin, who extended his career-best run at the tournament with a five-set triumph against world No.31 Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
> READ: Popyrin sets up third-round clash with Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon
Adam Walton fell just short of joining his peers in the third round. The world No.101 was edged out in a five-set, four-hour thriller against Argentina’s Francisco Comesana.
Unfortunately, Australia’s No.1 woman Daria Saville also bowed out in heartbreaking fashion in the second round. Saville held a match point against world No.19 Marta Kostyuk, before eventually succumbing in a three-set battle that extended beyond three hours.
Aussies in action – Wimbledon
RESULTS
Men’s singles, second round
[9] Alex de Minaur (AUS) d Jaume Munar (ESP) 6-2 6-2 7-5
Alexei Popyrin (AUS) d [30] Tomas Martin Etcheverry (ARG) 3-6 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-3
Francisco Comesana (ARG) d Adam Walton (AUS) 7-5 1-6 6-7(12) 6-1 7-6(8)
[Q] Lucas Pouille (FRA) d Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) 2-6 7-5 5-2 ret.
Women’s singles, second round
[18] Marta Kostyuk (UKR) d Daria Saville (AUS) 4-6 7-6(2) 6-4
COMING UP
Men’s singles, third round
[9] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v [Q] Lucas Pouille (FRA)
Alexei Popyrin (AUS) v [2] Novak Djokovic (SRB)
> VIEW: Wimbledon 2024 men’s singles draw
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