Demon slays Aussie slayer to advance at Wimbledon
Ian Chadband |
Alex de Minaur has ground his way into the second week of Wimbledon again, but only after a struggle to subdue the one-time American wonder boy who’s earned a reputation as an Aussie slayer.
Zach Svajda defeated both Alexei Popyrin and Adam Walton in his recent breakthrough run at the French Open, and there were moments on another sunny Saturday at the All England Club when he had Australia’s No.1 on the run too in their third-round clash.
But in an entertaining battle full of quicksilver rallies between two speedy, counter-punching lightweights, it was world No.6 de Minaur who eventually proved the superior version as Svajda, who needed treatment on his troublesome quad, finally succumbed 6-2 5-7 6-2 6-4.
Back for a third victory on No.3 court this week, de Minaur was left enthusing after more “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” cheers rang out: “This almost feels like an Aussie court. It’s been amazing playing on this court.”
“Zach was a hell of a player. He got to the fourth round at Roland Garros is playing some incredible tennis,” de Minaur added of the 23-year-old who was once seen as a youthful phenomenon and played in the US Open at 16.
“He’s quite awkward, plays great tennis from both sides, he’s got one of the best running cross-court forehands I’ve ever seen. I played really well to hang in there.”
The hard-earned victory, with de Minaur still grappling to gain the consistency of excellence he’ll need if he wants to break his quarter-final ceiling at the majors this week, has set up a last-16 clash on Monday against either Italy’s French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli, the ninth seed, or Russian 19th seed Karen Khachanov.
De Minaur broke in the first game and controlled the opening set, a searing backhand winner down the line to seal the first set in a one-sided half-an-hour seeming to sum up his superiority.
A third break at the start of the second set looked to offer complete control but world No.66 Svajda lifted his level dramatically, seemingly encouraged by de Minaur’s drop-off in aggression and hit straight back.
There looked to be a key moment when Svajda, having eked out a set point at 5-4 on de Minaur’s serve, slid forward and touched the net as he raced in to put away the backhand winner.
But after taking advantage of his reprieve to escape for 5-5, de Minaur was again pegged back by a couple of inspired winners from the American, who broke again to level affairs.
The uneven nature of the fifth seed’s display was in evidence again as de Minaur broke four times and was broken twice in the third set as Svajda began to feel the pace and needed a medical time out for treatment on his left thigh.
From there, de Minaur was always in command, as he finally got the job done in two hours 41 minutes.
AAP