"Disrupt his rhythm’: Alex de Minaur reveals tactics ahead of US Open showdown with Felix Auger-Aliassime

Australia’s Alex de Minaur has shared his strategy to counter Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinal of the US Open. Both players are set to face off in the last eight of the fourth and the final Grand Slam of the year on Wednesday.

Auger-Aliassime cemented his spot in the quarterfinal after beating Russia’s Andrey Rublev in the last-16 clash with a score of 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. On the other hand, De Minaur secured his spot in the last eight after securing a thumping win against Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.

It will be the fourth meeting between the two players in professional tennis at the highest level. In the previous three meetings, Auger-Aliassime had a slight advantage as he won on two occasions and suffered just one defeat. However, in their last meeting, which was in the round of 32 of the Madrid Masters, it was De Minaur who came out on top with a score of 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.

De Minaur spoke to the media after the match, where he shared the strategy to get the better of Auger-Aliassime. De Minaur admitted that there are points where Auger-Aliassime is simply unplayable, but also highlighted that the Canadian tennis star gives opportunities as well, which he will try to exploit going forward.

“I think Felix is that type of player that everyone knows that his top level is incredibly high, right? And when he's playing with confidence, he's very tough to beat,” said De Minaur. “And this week he's obviously playing some incredible tennis and he's got a lot of weapons. He's got a great serve. He's got a great forehand. He looks to dictate whenever he can. So in that matchup, for me, it's all about trying to disrupt his rhythm, right? Not give him the chance to bully me on the court. Do my best to counter and dictate whenever I can. And ultimately, I know what I'm getting myself into. He's got moments on the court where he's unbeatable and then there's moments that he'll give you a couple errors, right? So for me, it's about weathering the storm and I'm giving myself a chance at playing for a quarterfinal, right? These are the matches I want to be playing and for me, it's about going for it, going for the opportunity and I'm very excited for it.”

De Minaur, despite achieving a lot of success in different competitions, has found it hard to remain consistent at the Grand Slams. His most consistent performances came while playing at the US Open where he has now cemented a quarterfinal spot three times. De Minaur spoke what it means for him to do well while playing at the Flashing Meadows and also highlighted the fact that he managed to do a job that was assigned for him.

“Yeah, happy, happy with the performance,” said De Minaur. “Could have been a dangerous matchup. The way he's been playing with a lot of confidence, I knew that going in and I'm very happy with the way I kind of went about my business. I stayed focused. I knew I had a job to get done and I'm happy that I was able to get through in straight sets. Well, I think if we look at results, I think this is by far my best slam. 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, but all the way back to juniors. I had an incredible run from qualifiers all the way to the semifinals. I got my first top 10 win here against Nishikori. First quarterfinals of the slam was here. I've now made three quarters here. I just, I get good results here in New York, so New York treats me very well.”

Despite now reaching the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam for six times, De Minaur has never managed to get past this stage of a mega-event in his career. Talking about that, the Sydney-born admitted that he is aware of this stat and is looking forward to change it. “I've always thought that the first job is to get there,” said De Minaur. “And give myself the opportunity. If I bomb out early, I'm never gonna get the chance. So at least I've got the chance in front of me and it's about embracing it. As I said, now this is my sixth quarterfinals. So I've got some experience. I know what to expect. And the mindset going forward is gonna be going for it. There's no holding back.”

De Minaur was asked about which Grand Slam he would like to win in his career. In response to that, he shared his preference but also stated that he would be happy winning anyone of the major events. “Yeah, I mean, I dream of winning Australia[n Open],” said De Minaur. “That's for me, I don't think there would be a better feeling than winning your home slam. And yeah, at this stage, any grand slam. That's the ultimate goal. I'm not gonna get exactly picky if I can only get one. I'll be very happy with whichever falls on my lap. But of course, I think, yeah, growing up, thinking about what it would feel like being an Australian, winning in Australia, that would be pretty special.”