The Australian Open may well be Alex de Minaur’s home grand slam, but the fans in the stands of Roland-Garros are treating him like one of his own.
The Demon wowed the adoring crowd when he began speaking French after his surprise win over Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round.
A quarter-final against Germany’s Alexander Zverev awaits the 25-year-old Sydneysider where another shock upset looms.
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Speaking on Stan Sport’s Grand Slam Daily, 2011 Roland-Garros mixed doubles winner Casey Dellacqua said de Minaur is the undisputed underdog.
“To be in the quarter-finals is certainly a thrill for Alex and he is the underdog, whether it be on paper or people’s perceptions,” said Dellacqua.
Australia’s Alex De Minaur celebrates winning his fourth round match of the French Open tennis tournament against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev. Christophe Ena via AP
“He’s certainly not the one people expect to win, but can he win? Yes, absolutely.
“We know that Alex plays so great when the crowd is behind him. The fact that he’s really got the French on his side… He speaks beautiful French, which I didn’t even know, he’s got such a great accent when he was talking in French and he’s going to have the crowd.
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“It’s certainly going to be a tough match-up for Alex, but he’s in a really great position. If he’s going to win these types of matches, it’s now. His tennis has improved out of sight. The way he goes about these grand slam tournaments has improved.”
In nine previous contests, Zverev has won seven.
The pair have both enjoyed a rise up the ranks of late with Zverev climbing to fourth in the world rankings while de Minaur has floated around the fringe of the top 10, currently 11th.
Alexander Zverev of Germany celebrates winning match point against Holger Rune of Denmark. Clive Mason via Getty Images
Thursday morning’s contest will be the first time they’ve faced each other in a grand slam.
Three-time Roland-Garros winner Mats Wilander of Sweden said de Minaur’s development of late has been significant.
“I think he has started to realise that he’s not going to out-hit players,” Wilander told Stan Sport.
“With that, he’s started to realise that he has to come forward, use his speed in an aggressive manner. When he does that, he can do that on a clay court.
“He can do that on any surface. It’s tougher on a clay court to do that, but he runs so well and he slides too so well that he can defend on a clay court for a little while.
“For me, he’s getting better by a few percentage points every year, which, if you have five years and you get 10 per cent better, that makes a huge difference.”
As for Zverev, Dellacqua said De Minaur shouldn’t change the way he plays in the quarter-final.
“I don’t think he’ll be focusing too much on what type of shots he needs to play,” she explained.
“He’ll just be keeping rhythm, he’d just be wanting to feel the ball, get on court, move his body a bit.
“The main thing for Alex, and having heard him speak, that he’ll be focusing on is how he prepares in between each match, and that is so much about playing the experience of playing grand slam tennis.
“I think he’ll just be wanting to stay fresh, a little bit of a hit on the day off that he had, keep the body going, get recovery, get a massage, and probably have a few laughs with his team and keep fresh for this match against Alex Zverev.”