Fueled by revenge, dismissing doubters and turning stories, Alex de Minaur finds himself within reach of a place he’s never been before. The home hope crushed its bogeyman Alexander Bublik in just 92 minutes on Sunday night to book a place in his seventh Grand Slam quarter-final, and a tantalizing clash with top seed Carlos Alcaraz.
Sunday’s match ended in the blink of an eye, 6-4, 6-1, 6-1, before the sun set on the surprisingly cold Rod Laver Arena, prompting the Kazakhstani to berate his coach about the conditions.
De Minaur said he wanted to “get my revenge” against an opponent who had come back to beat him twice in 2025 and who is already a tournament winner in 2026. “I was very happy to get across the line and not get into any trouble,” said the No. 6 seed. “He can so easily get back into a match, hit a few winners, and all of a sudden the match just goes sideways.”
Alcaraz now faces Australia’s highest men’s ranking at Melbourne Park in 20 years. De Minaur’s best form in his career only raises expectations for a match that was already circled when the draw was announced ten days ago.
De Minaur famously has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals of a grand slam, despite reaching there six times, including last summer in Melbourne when he was helpless against the rampant Jannik Sinner. He has not defeated Alcaraz in five meetings.
The Australian said he recognized Tuesday would be his “toughest test yet” and believed Alcaraz was becoming increasingly focused in matches. “In the past he may have had moments where he could give you a few cheap points here and there and let opponents get into the game. He’s been working on that, so he’s just going to make it more difficult.”
De Minaur also looks to be a different player at Melbourne Park this year, having defeated first No. 29 seed Frances Tiafoe and now Bublik. The latter had already won a lead-in tournament in Hong Kong three weeks ago and is in tenth place in his career at the highest level. Now he is also the first top 10 player to beat De Minaur on his home slam. “I’m just showing people that I’ve improved, right?” said De Minaur. “I have more to give. I’m tired of the story that these big hitters can take the racket out of my hands.”
A packed Rod Laver Arena was in the middle of its battle with Bublik when the score was tied at 4-4 in the opening set. They didn’t expect De Minaur to find a whole new level. But he won 14 of the next 16 matches to end the match as a contest.
Midway through the barrage, Bublik was caught on a microphone complaining about the speed of the field, telling his team, “How can I hit? It’s a damn ping-pong ball, it doesn’t fly.” To the waiting press he repeated the point more eloquently, but was also friendly to his opponent. “It was my fault, I didn’t adapt to the circumstances as quickly as normal,” he said. “That’s tennis, he played a great match, he deserved to win. Absolutely, he was the better player.”
The match between De Minaur and Alcaraz will be played on the hottest day in Melbourne since 2020. The Australian doesn’t mind the heat – “I mean, I’m Aussie,” he said – but he appears to be resigned to the roof being closed, as was the case on Saturday when temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius.
Whether the area is open or not, De Minaur will go into the match as a clear underdog. After his victory on Sunday, he was convinced that it is not his responsibility to tell people – despite his performances at grand slams and against Alcaraz – that he has a chance. On the contrary, he just wants to show it.
“I’m not going to come here and beg Australia to believe in me, [that] I can do it,” he said. ‘I’m going out, I’m going to participate. I will continue after the match, I am looking forward to the fight.”
“Yes, ultimately it’s something I’ve never done before, but you know, there’s always a first time for everything. I’m hoping that will be Tuesday.”
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