New York (AFP) – Alex de Minaur said he will pull out all the stops in a bid to end his Grand Slam quarter-final jinx after motoring into the last eight of the US Open on Monday. The Australian eighth seed is eyeing the sixth Grand Slam singles quarter-final of his career after swatting Swiss qualifier Leandro Riedi 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in one hour 33 minutes. In five previous visits to the last eight of a Grand Slam, De Minaur has failed to advance to the semi-finals. That is something the 26-year-old is determined to change when he faces Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime on Wednesday.
“I’ve always thought that the first job is to get (to the quarter-finals) and give myself the opportunity,” De Minaur said after Monday’s victory. “If I bum out early, I’m never going to get the chance, so at least I’ve got the chance in front of me. It’s about embracing it, right? This is my sixth quarter-finals, so I’ve got some experience. I know what to expect, and the mindset going forward is going to be going for it. There’s no holding back.”
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Riedi, whose world ranking has plummeted to 435th after undergoing two knee surgeries in the past 12 months, was never in contention against the skilful De Minaur. The Aussie broke Riedi eight times and took advantage of 39 unforced errors by his opponent to wrap up a clinical win.
Two of De Minaur’s previous Grand Slam quarter-final appearances have come in New York, a setting that the Australian believes is well-suited to his game. “If we look at results, I think this is by far my best slam,” De Minaur said. “It’s often a question I ask myself of why exactly is it here in New York, and I think I probably put it down to maybe the courts being a little bit quicker here and the conditions and the ball flying through the air a little bit quicker.”
“First quarter-finals at a Slam was here. I’ve now made three quarters here. I get good results here in New York, so New York treats me very well,” he said.
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