When Alex de Minaur last played Daniil Medvedev in a grand slam, the gutsy Australian — who once drew inspiration from the “blue wall” used to describe the New South Wales State of Origin team — hit the wall for the first time in his career.
But the world No. 11 is among those including his compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis who believe he is far better-placed to topple the Russian giant when they clash in a Rd of 16 match at the French Open tonight (AEST).
The lessons from that brutal 4th round encounter at the US Open last September are part of the reason de Minaur believes he is a realistic chance against the three-time Australian Open finalist.
De Minaur vs Medvedev is expected to start around 8.15pm Monday AEST. Follow live updates at the bottom of the page
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Pitted against the former US Open champion on his favourite surface on a stifling day so hot the heat seemed to sizzle in the air, the combatants pushed each other to the limit in an energy-sapping opening two sets.
Medvedev, who is renowned for his endurance, became increasingly heat-stressed as he tried to level the match at a set apiece and felt close to keeling over. But then he looked at his rival and noticed the zip de Minaur is renowned for was fading. The Aussie looked cooked.
“The conditions were probably the most brutal we have ever played,” Medvedev said.
“At one moment, I thought I was not going to (be able to) play till the end. And then I looked at him, and he is one of the best guys around physically, and he was not moving as well either, so I thought I would fight to the end.”
De Minaur, who has won two of his eight outings against the world No. 4, said it was the “first time in my career that fitness let me down”.
They meet in the same round as New York but the setting is vastly different in Paris given the temperature is far cooler and the surface is the lesser-preferred of both men. But that does not mean it will be any less of a battle given their style of play.
“Probably, against Medvedev, it’s going to be a lot of gruelling rallies, a lot of very tactical awareness from both of us, a lot of variety, a lot … of change of pace, good movement from both (of us),” de Minaur said.
“It should be hopefully fun to play him on the clay. I have yet to do that, so hopefully we can play a good match and I can go out there and show what I can do.”
Medvedev, who lost two matches in a row to de Minaur at Masters level in Paris in 2022 and Canada last year and then followed the US Open clash with a victory in Beijing in October, has no doubt there will be some cat-and-mouse tactics adopted in the match.
“Definitely. We both move great. I feel like we both know how to attack well, but at the same time we’re not someone who … can make one shot that’s going to decide the rally, so then the rally goes on and on, because we both defend well,” he said.
“I feel like we had a lot of good matches. Some he won. Some I won. Some were … better than the others. Some were maybe a bit worse level. All of them were fun, and I’m looking forward to it.
“We practised a week before Roland Garros in Monte-Carlo. I think we can both play well (on clay) and it’s going to be interesting.”
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While hard court is Medvedev’s supreme surface, he did win the Italian Open last year and declared recently he “can do big things on clay”.
De Minaur, for his part, has learned to embrace the challenges that come with the surface and has enjoyed a consistent European swing, reaching the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo, defeating Rafael Nadal in Barcelona and then making the last 16 at the Italian Open.
If fitness was a factor in New York last September, strength has been the key to the Australian becoming increasingly proficient on clay as he seeks to make his second grand slam quarterfinal following a run to the last eight in New York in 2020.
His Davis Cup teammate Kokkinakis, who was edged by American Taylor Fritz in a five set thriller on Saturday night in Paris, is full of praise for the Australian No.1.
“He deserves everything that comes to him. (He is a) great guy, a Davis Cup teammate who always leads by example (and) most of the time wins,” Kokkinakis said.
“He just has the best attitude you’ve ever seen from a player and (he) really pushes everyone. He’s an ultimate teammate and he’s maybe not the most natural clay courter, but when you’re good, you’re good. So he’s a very good player (and) his ranking speaks for itself.
“He definitely deserves it and he’s added a bit more firepower to his game. He’s hitting his drop shot a lot better. And that’s a recipe for success on clay, so I think he would be using that a bit against Medvedev.”
While Medvedev is the superior performer in grand slams and has the advantage in their head-to-head, Kokkinakis believes clay is a leveller between the two, with the Russian seeking to reach the last eight in Paris for just the second time.
“I give him a good shot. Why not?” Kokkinakis said.
“He’s had tight matches with Medvedev before and beaten him and it’s not Medvedev’s strongest surface either. But again, (Daniil is a) great player, so it’s going to be tough.
“It probably has four or five sets written on it. But Alex is just a tough out (and) you have to play well to have a chance to beat him. It should be a good match.”
De Minaur is bidding to become the first Australian man to reach the French Open quarter-finals since Hewitt last did it in 2004.
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