Alex de Minaur beats Alex Michelsen to reach first Australian Open QF | ATP tour

Match report

De Minaur eliminates Michelsen and reaches the first AO QF

The Australian will next play Sinner

January 20, 2025

Alex de Minaur broke new ground on Monday during his home Grand Slam by qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Australian Open for the first time. The eighth-seeded Australian beat 20-year-old Alex Michelsen 6-0, 7-6(5), 6-3 in a three-set, topsy-turvy match.

De Minaur has now reached the quarter-finals at all four majors and will next face PIF ATP Rankings No. 1 player and reigning champion Jannik Sinner. The 25-year-old is the 35th Australian to reach the quarter-finals in Melbourne, but only the third since 2005, joining Lleyton Hewitt and Nick Kyrgios.

With his victory in two hours and 10 minutes, De Minaur improved his record to 17-0 against players ranked lower than him in the hard-court major.

“It means everyone,” De Minaur said when asked about qualifying for the quarter-finals. “There’s nothing I want to do more than play well here in Australia, in front of you. I’m happy to have finally reached the quarter-finals. Let’s move on to bigger and better things.”

Competing in the fourth round in Melbourne for the fourth year in a row, the 25-year-old flew away against a misfiring Michelsen, winning the first eight games of the match. It was not until the 41st minute that Michelsen got on the scoreboard and the young American then showed a great fight to push De Minaur into the second set.

In front of a raucous crowd at Rod Laver Arena, De Minaur was on his way to a two-set lead while serving at 5-3, 30/0. However, Michelsen stepped up his aggression and landed some heavy forehands to come back and eventually force a tiebreak.

With the set in the balance, De Minaur recovered from 4/5 in the tie-break. He hit a forehand winner to tie the game, hit a big first serve to advance, then capitalized on a Michelsen forehand error to win the set and take full control.

“I had the opportunity in the second set to run away with it and not leave it in view of the match, but I couldn’t close it out,” De Minaur said. “He raised his level and made this match tough. That second set was crucial and I was happy to bounce back after no games to break. That second set was huge.”

Puffed up as he returned to his bench, De Minaur broke away in the third set. He made just seven unforced errors in the third set and saved a break point while serving for the match at 5-3 to improve to 2-1 in the duo’s Lexus ATP Head2Head Series.

THE DEMON MAKES IT HOME 😈📣

He brings the strength to reach the quarter-finals with a 6-0 7-6(5) 6-3 victory against Michelsen… 🔥#AO2025 pic.twitter.com/Ir2ld9Q2xq

-ATP Tour (@atptour) January 20, 2025

Michelsen played for the first time in the second week of a major tournament. The 20-year-old, who competed last month at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, scored Top 20 wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov en route to the fourth round.

If De Minaur wants to reach his first major semi-final, he will have to do something he has never managed before and beat Sinner. The Italian leads the Australian 9-0 in the Lexus ATP Head2Head Series, having not lost a set in any of their nine meetings.

De Minaur is proud of his progress to the quarter-finals and believes it is a reward for the constant hard work he has put in.

“Like my whole career, it’s been day by day,” De Minaur said. “It wasn’t an overnight success. I had to improve every year, small percentages. Get a little stronger, bigger and get a few extra free points on my serve. Get more confidence and I think it’s a combination of that and I think consistency always pays off in the end.”