More quarter-final heartbreak for Demon at US Open
Creeson Downey and Ian Chadband |
Sixth time unlucky, it’s back to the drawing board for a devastated Alex de Minaur at the US Open after he blew surely his best chance yet to reach a grand slam semi-final.
With his serving once again letting him down badly, Australia’s No.1 was still left reflecting on golden opportunities missed as he went down 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 7-6 (7-4) to Felix Auger-Aliassime in a curiously uneven and largely flat quarter-final marathon at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday.
After five previous last-eight disappointments while searching for that elusive breakthrough, de Minaur was a set up, then a break up before missing out on a set point in the second, and still looking the better player in the latter stages of the third as he rallied impressively.
There was, as usual, nothing wrong with his spirit as he roared back and looked in complete control of the fourth, at 5-2 up, but when it was time to really come up big after a match of disappointing quality, Auger-Aliassime was the one who soared to the occasion.
With both men often seeming fazed by the magnitude of the occasion, 25th seed Auger-Aliassime, seeking his first semi-final since his breakthrough at Flushing Meadows in 2021, held his nerve best, producing his best tennis with his booming forehand in the fourth-set tiebreaker to seal the win in four hours 10 minutes.
But de Minaur, who had bowed out at Wimbledon to Novak Djokovic while bemoaning the poor quality of his serving, will again have to unravel with his team why his first-serve percentage was down at just 42, nowhere near good enough at this level.
For large periods, he still looked set to prevail but, instead, Auger-Aliassime, ranked No.27 in the world, ended up raising the stakes, unleashing 51 winners with his bigger game to just about outstrip his 50 unforced errors.
Over the past four years in grand slams, de Minaur has beaten 26 players who are ranked outside the top-20, and he’s lost only two. Unfortunately, both have been in the quarter-finals of the US Open – to Jack Draper last year and now Auger-Aliassime.
“It feels amazing, four years ago, it feels like more. It’s been a tough couple of years but it feels great to be back in the semis,” said the one-time wonder boy Auger-Aliassime, who will next play either defending champion Jannik Sinner or 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti, who face off in an all-Italian quarter-final later on Ashe.
The Canadian showed plenty of resilience himself after being on the verge of going two sets to love down, with de Minaur leading 6-5 in the second-set tiebreak. He erased it with a 190km/h ace before levelling the contest, and never looked back.
After such a let-down de Minaur, though, there will perhaps only be the memory of one dazzling point for him to recall with much fondness after his loss – featuring an incredible tweener lob that landed on the line and won him the biggest cheers of the day from an often distracted Ashe crowd.Â
ALEX DE MINAUR’S GRAND SLAM QUARTER-FINAL PAIN:
* 2020 US Open: lost to Dominic Thiem (AUT) 6-1 6-2 6-4
* 2024 French Open: lost to Alexander Zverev (GER) 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-4
* 2024 Wimbledon: lost to Novak Djokovic (SRB) injured, walkover
* 2024 US Open: lost to Jack Draper (GBR) 6-3 7-5 6-2
* 2025: Australian Open: lost to Jannik Sinner (ITA) 6-3 6-2 6-1
* 2025: US Open: lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 7-6 (7-4)
AAP
