Demon averts danger to advance as defending champ suffers shock loss
London: Alex de Minaur avoided potential trouble by booking a place in the round of 16 at Wimbledon for the fourth time on a day when defending champion Iga Swiatek lost and Serena Williams withdrew from doubles.
Australia’s world No. 6, bidding to advance beyond the quarter-finals at a grand slam for the first time and matching his youthful effort to reach the final a decade ago, led American Zach Svajda by a set and a break and found himself, as the British would say, in a tight spot.
Svajda is physically in the same weight category as de Minaur, but he produces seemingly effortless power at times and begins to tee off when the ball is shorter or given enough time to recover.
He had 17 of his 39 winners with a brief threat of defeat in the second set, but fifth-seeded de Minaur regained the momentum and won 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. The challenge for De Minaur, as is often the case, was whether he could get the best of his opponent.
“I think the way he accelerated made me take a step back and gave him a little more time with the ball. He was hitting a little more and I thought his level had definitely gone up,” De Minaur said.
“To be fair, I spoke to the team before the game and we knew Zach could do something like this.
“Our mentality was to compete, stay with it, maintain that level throughout the game and hope it drops at some point.”
That’s effectively what happens. For all of Svajda’s racquet fireworks, he didn’t keep the ball in play long enough to outlast de Minaur, one of the sport’s endurance warriors.
Making 50 unforced errors is rarely part of the recipe for beating de Minaur, who was as successful in making the second set as competitive as it was during Svajda’s unsustainable purple patch.
On one of the American’s set points, de Minaur slid so far for a forehand that he split and fell onto the slippery grass behind the baseline. Many would have given up, but she jumped to her feet, hit a deep backhand to push Svajda back, and eventually made a mistake.
It was classic Demon behavior, and he was only stopped briefly in the set, but it reminded Svajda of the type of tennis he needed to produce to get the job done. At least in this case he wasn’t ready for it.
“I have to remind myself more often that best out of five is a completely different beast,” De Minaur said.
“Normally, if the opponent plays a good set you get a little disappointed, but what I have to think about is that they have to do it for three sets. It’s not the easiest task to achieve. There’s someone on the other side who can make sure he plays every point.”
“There will be some excitement as we get to the end of this tournament, so I’m looking forward to that.”
De Minaur’s opponent in the fourth round is No. 9 seed, Roland-Garros finalist and sometimes training partner Flavio Cobolli. Flavio Cobolli got off to a slow start and defeated Karen Khachanov 0-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-2 over four hours.
Reaching the second week of a grand slam is child’s play for Minaur these days too; He has reached the fourth round in 10 of his last 12 majors, but his self-defined goal is to break new ground.
What does this mean? Finally He broke through the quarter-final barrier after venturing that far seven times, including at Wimbledon two years ago when a hip injury kept him from taking the court against Novak Djokovic.
Swiatek was in a similar situation a year ago, having failed to advance past the last eight at the All England Club, culminating in a spectacular run into a one-sided final with double-bagel American Amanda Anisimova.
But the former world No. 1’s title defense came to an end as she suffered a 7-6 (11-9) 6-2 defeat against fast-rising Filipino Alexandra Eala; His already massive fan base will only grow after his career-best victory and heart-warming on-field interview.
“I’m really emotional,” Eala said.
“Maybe for someone like Iga who won a lot of slams, or maybe for someone like Serena or Venus [Williams]This achievement may seem small. But for someone who grew up in the Philippines [this is massive].
“I would go to training every day after school with my brother and grandfather, with my frilly socks, light-up shoes and chubby cheeks, so that’s everything to him.”
Swiatek was not the only name to come out of the tournament in first place after Belgian Elise Mertens defeated 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina with sets of 7-6 (7-4), 6-1. Anisimova also bowed out in the All-American competition, losing to Madison Keys in sets of 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Seeds Alexander Zverev, Jasmine Paolini, Linda Noskova and Jiri Lehecka were among the other winners.
Eala is a national hero and pioneer in the Philippines; This was showcased at this year’s Australian Open, where even practice sessions attracted a fan base. Before last year’s US Open, no one from his country had won a match at a grand slam tournament.
Eala bounced back from her set in the previous round to knock out Australia’s Maya Joint, who beat midcourt Serena Williams in a thrilling three-setter in the first round.
This defeat to Joint had even greater consequences for Wimbledon and Williams, who injured his right knee in the match. After days of speculation, the 23-time major champion star withdrew from the doubles team along with her sister Venus.
“I am heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles. Returning to compete again was a gift and the opportunity to play alongside Venus once again meant the world to me,” Williams said on Instagram.
“I did everything I could to be ready, but unfortunately my knee is not ready to compete.
“I’m especially grateful to tournament director Jamie Baker and the entire tournament staff for giving me every opportunity to play here. Thank you to the fans for their incredible support and making this comeback so meaningful. All I can say is, stay tuned for a city near you.”
Marc McGowan traveled to London with the support of Tennis Australia.
Watch Wimbledon every evening from 7.30pm (AEST) on Nine Network and Stan Sport.
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