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ABC News
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Alex de Minaur through to French Open second round as Adam Walton prevails in Roland Garros five-setter
Alex de Minaur jokes about being a "clay dog" these days, and he looked perfectly at home on the Roland Garros red dirt as he successfully launched his French Open bid with a win over Laslo Djere. De Minaur is making a welcome habit of defeating the players he really ought to beat in the majors, and a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) victory over Serbian world number 59 Djere was his 20th consecutive win in a slam over an opponent outside the top-30. Hours after "Demon" had opened up with his predictable straight-sets win, fellow Aussie Adam Walton forged past German Max Marterer 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 for his second grand slam win. Fortunately, not even treatment on his toe-strapped right foot at the start of the third was enough to hold up world number nine de Minaur's fleet-footed progress, even if he did get pulled into a bit of a dogfight, having to save four set points near the death. Djere, who had been 5-2 up in the third, squandered two set points when serving at 5-4 and another pair when 6-4 up in the tie break, but de Minaur's unquenchable spirit enabled him to escape to victory in just over 2.5 hours. "It wasn't pretty, but ultimately got the win, and that's all that matters," he smiled. Talking of "not pretty", he was also quick to apologise to the world for the sight of his right foot being the subject of some loving, lingering close-ups by the cameras of the host broadcasters. "Oh, jeez. I'm sorry for everyone who had to see that. That's not a pretty sight," grinned "Demon". "Actually, it was nothing major. I often get my toes taped up before matches. One that wasn't taped up was rubbing against the tape." Determined to build on his quarter-final breakthrough here last year, de Minaur, amid his most promising clay-court season yet, will have a familiar friend backing him all the way again in the shape of French youngster Paul, the "super fan" who cheered him on through rain and shine last year. "Yeah, Paul's here. He made it. He's got a very distinctive way of supporting me, which, even though I wasn't sure exactly where he was sitting, I could definitely hear him," smiled de Minaur. "It's great to have him around again. Hopefully, we can have a blast again this year." De Minaur will next face Kazakhstan's unpredictable Alexander Bublik, who prevented any prospect of an all-Australian second-round clash by defeating Sydneysider James Duckworth 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. With Alexei Popyrin also victorious earlier in the week, Brisbane's unsung Walton ensured there would be three Aussie men in the last 64 as the 26-year-old progressed. After two agonising five-set defeats in slams, the world number 91 had been fearing a third when Marterer, an experienced qualifier, levelled at two sets all. After prevailing in 3 hours and 40 minutes, he will next face 17th seed Andrey Rublev, who defeated South African Lloyd Harris in four sets. The only hiccup for world number two Coco Gauff against Aussie Olivia Gadecki was forgetting to take her racquets to the court. Even the 23-year-old Gold Coast player had to laugh that, whatever the reason for Coco's absent-mindedness, "it seems like that was the only way I was gonna win the match" Eventually, with weapons safely returned, Gauff just took the racquet out of Gadecki's hands, waltzing to a 6-2, 6-2 victory in just 71 minutes. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic progressed with a straight-sets win over American Mackenzie McDonald, but 11th seed Daniil Medvedev fell in five sets to Cameron Norrie to become the highest-profile loser on the men's side so far. AAP
Sydney Morning Herald
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Not pretty' but effective: Demon kicks off Roland-Garros assault in victory
After Djere blew the first of those with another unforced error, de Minaur produced one of his archetypal points to save the next. Djere repeatedly looked in position to finish the Australian No.1, but he kept hanging in before the Serb tugged a cross-court backhand narrowly wide. That proved his last opportunity: he shanked a forehand long before de Minaur sealed his passage to the second round with a well-placed first serve. Most importantly, de Minaur was on and off court 14 in barely two-and-a-half hours before the rain arrived. His serve was not a strength on this breezy Paris afternoon and will need to improve if he is to push into the second week again. Loading De Minaur has sacrificed a higher first-serve percentage hunting for more cheap points in recent years, but would not be satisfied with landing only 43 per cent of them against Djere. The upside for de Minaur is he won 74 per cent of those points, and even 61 per cent on his second serve – a trend in his rise to the top 10 – and he showed glimpses of his best despite leaking an uncharacteristic 44 unforced errors. De Minaur took a medical time-out after set two to have his toes re-taped, coinciding with a Djere toilet break, but showed no signs of discomfort and dismissed it as an issue post-match. He also confirmed his French super fan Paul was again in attendance after becoming a viral sensation for his support of the Australian last year. 'Paul's here. He made it. He's got a very distinctive way of supporting me, which even though I wasn't sure exactly where he was sitting, I could definitely hear him,' de Minaur said. 'I made contact with him at the very end of the match, and it's great to have him around again. Hopefully, we can have a blast again this year. As far as I know, if he's available, he'll be coming to all of my matches.' The last time the 26-year-old failed to make the second round at a grand slam was at this tournament three years ago, but he is a superior player now to then, including significant improvement on clay. De Minaur felt comfortable enough about his progress on the red dirt to suggest last month that he was ready to face anyone on it, and he backed up his last-eight run at Roland-Garros with a series of impressive claycourt efforts in the lead-up to this year's event. There will be more challenging clashes ahead, starting with Kazakh Alex Bublik, who dispatched another Australian, James Duckworth, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 inside two hours. 'He's going to be extremely dangerous. He went through a little bit of a rough patch at the start of the year, [but] he's definitely found his game as of late,' de Minaur said. 'It's going to be tough because he's unpredictable. He takes the racquet out of your hands.' Fast-rising Czech Jakub Mensik and fifth-seeded Brit Jack Draper loom as potential third- and fourth-round opponents, respectively. De Minaur followed compatriots Alexei Popyrin, Daria Kasatkina and Ajla Tomljanovic into the second round.
The Age
27-05-2025
- Sport
- The Age
‘Not pretty' but effective: Demon kicks off Roland-Garros assault in victory
After Djere blew the first of those with another unforced error, de Minaur produced one of his archetypal points to save the next. Djere repeatedly looked in position to finish the Australian No.1, but he kept hanging in before the Serb tugged a cross-court backhand narrowly wide. That proved his last opportunity: he shanked a forehand long before de Minaur sealed his passage to the second round with a well-placed first serve. Most importantly, de Minaur was on and off court 14 in barely two-and-a-half hours before the rain arrived. His serve was not a strength on this breezy Paris afternoon and will need to improve if he is to push into the second week again. Loading De Minaur has sacrificed a higher first-serve percentage hunting for more cheap points in recent years, but would not be satisfied with landing only 43 per cent of them against Djere. The upside for de Minaur is he won 74 per cent of those points, and even 61 per cent on his second serve – a trend in his rise to the top 10 – and he showed glimpses of his best despite leaking an uncharacteristic 44 unforced errors. De Minaur took a medical time-out after set two to have his toes re-taped, coinciding with a Djere toilet break, but showed no signs of discomfort and dismissed it as an issue post-match. He also confirmed his French super fan Paul was again in attendance after becoming a viral sensation for his support of the Australian last year. 'Paul's here. He made it. He's got a very distinctive way of supporting me, which even though I wasn't sure exactly where he was sitting, I could definitely hear him,' de Minaur said. 'I made contact with him at the very end of the match, and it's great to have him around again. Hopefully, we can have a blast again this year. As far as I know, if he's available, he'll be coming to all of my matches.' The last time the 26-year-old failed to make the second round at a grand slam was at this tournament three years ago, but he is a superior player now to then, including significant improvement on clay. De Minaur felt comfortable enough about his progress on the red dirt to suggest last month that he was ready to face anyone on it, and he backed up his last-eight run at Roland-Garros with a series of impressive claycourt efforts in the lead-up to this year's event. There will be more challenging clashes ahead, starting with Kazakh Alex Bublik, who dispatched another Australian, James Duckworth, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 inside two hours. 'He's going to be extremely dangerous. He went through a little bit of a rough patch at the start of the year, [but] he's definitely found his game as of late,' de Minaur said. 'It's going to be tough because he's unpredictable. He takes the racquet out of your hands.' Fast-rising Czech Jakub Mensik and fifth-seeded Brit Jack Draper loom as potential third- and fourth-round opponents, respectively. De Minaur followed compatriots Alexei Popyrin, Daria Kasatkina and Ajla Tomljanovic into the second round.
News.com.au
27-05-2025
- General
- News.com.au
Alex De Minaur overcomes foot injury in ruthless French Open win
Australian ninth seed Alex de Minaur overcame a medical timeout for treatment on a foot injury to complete a ruthless French Open first round victory in Paris as he looks to extend his remarkable grand slam streak into the ultimate glory. De Minaur claimed a strong 6-3 6-4 7-6 (8-6) victory over Serb Laslo Djere on a cold and windy court 14 at Roland Garros on Tuesday, taking the match in just two hours 36 minutes as he began his quest to go deep in the second grand slam of the year. It was in Paris last year that de Minaur started his remarkable streak with a quarter-final run, a result which has now stretched to four straight grand slam final eight appearances. But to keep the slam sequence alive, the 26-year-old world No. 9 is going to need to elevate his game and build into the week in Paris after some anxious moments against Djere. De Minaur was at times shaky on serve (45% first serve), his service game broken twice, and had to come back from a break down in the third set to secure his path into the second round. The Aussie saved two set points on the Serb's serve at 5-3 down in the third set, before closing out the match in a tiebreak that tested his nerve and his composure. 'Demon has got to keep his head here, he is getting very fired up and fired up at his box,' fellow Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis said in commentary on Channel Nine after the Aussie gestured at his coaches when trailing 4-2 in the tiebreak. De Minaur saved a further two set points in the tiebreak, scrambling to keep the ball alive as the Serb desperately tried to hit winners and close out the set. But the ninth seed rattled off the last four points in a row to secure a dramatic tiebreak win. 'I thought he played really well, it got tough conditions wise at the end of that but you can just see the confidence he has built in his game over the last year or so,' said Todd Woodbridge. De Minaur also took a medical timeout to treat injured toes on his right foot after the second set, an occupational hazard for tennis players during clay court season where constant sliding across the surface requires regular podiatrist attention and maintenance. 'Demon (de Minaur) and Lleyton (Hewitt) are both as tough as they come,' said fellow Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis in commentary for Nine. 'Even if they do have a problem you don't hear about it.' De Minaur will meet either compatriot James Duckworth or Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik in the second round, the pair were due to play their clash later on Tuesday in Paris. But it's the fourth round where de Minaur's draw really looks difficult, with Italian world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in his round of 16 group and looming as one of the men to beat this year on clay. However, de Minaur is not without hope even if he has yet to claim any big scalps on clay this season. 'He is coming into this (tournament) healthy and he is improving every year,' said Kokkinakis. 'I think it's just a matter of time and draws opening up for him.'
West Australian
27-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Blistered 'clay dog' de Minaur scraps to Paris win
Alex de Minaur jokes about being a "clay dog" these days, and he certainly looked perfectly at home on the Roland Garros red dirt as he mauled, scrapped and finally chased off Laslo Djere to successfully launch his French Open bid. "Demon'' has begun to make a welcome habit of defeating the players he really ought to beat in the majors, and a 6-3 6-4 7-6 (8-6) victory over Serbian Djere, the world No.59, on Tuesday was his 20th consecutive win in a slam over an opponent outside the top 30. Fortunately, not even a spell of treatment for his apparently blistered right foot at the start of the third set was enough to stop the world No.9's fleet-footed progress, even though he did then get pulled into a bit of a dogfight, having to save four set points before advancing in three straight. Djere, who had been 5-2 up in the third, squandered two set points when serving at 5-4 and another pair when 6-4 up in the tiebreak, but de Minaur's unquenchable fighting spirit enabled him to escape and seal the deal in just over two and a half hours. Determined to build on his quarter-final breakthrough here last year, de Minaur, in the middle of his most promising claycourt season yet, is the fourth Australian into the second round alongside Alexei Popyrin, Daria Kasatkina and Ajla Tomljanovic. He'll next face either compatriot James Duckworth or Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik, who were also meeting on Tuesday's program.
