London: Alex de Minaur has dodged potential trouble to book a round-of-16 Wimbledon berth for a fourth time, on a day defending champion Iga Swiatek lost and Serena Williams withdrew from the doubles.
Australia’s world No.6, who is bidding to go beyond the quarter-finals at a grand slam for the first time and match his junior effort from a decade ago of reaching the final, led American Zach Svajda by a set and a break before finding himself in a spot of bother, as the Brits would say.
Svajda is in the same lightweight division physically as de Minaur, but generates seemingly effortless power at times – and began teeing off whenever he had a shorter ball or was afforded enough time to wind up.
He struck 17 of his 39 winners in a blistering second set to briefly threaten an upset, only for fifth-seeded de Minaur to snatch back the momentum and secure a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory. The challenge for de Minaur, as is often the case, was whether he could absorb his rival’s best.
“I think the way he stepped it up made me probably take a step back, and kind of give him a bit more time on the ball. He was having a bit more of a swing, and I thought his level definitely raised,” de Minaur said.
“To be fair, I talked with the team before the match, and we knew that Zach was capable of something like this.
“The mindset was to compete, to stay with him, and to maintain that level throughout the match, and hope that, at some point, he’ll drop.”
That is effectively what happened. For all of Svajda’s racquet fireworks, he simply did not keep the ball in play enough to outlast de Minaur, one of the sport’s endurance warriors.
Committing 50 unforced errors is rarely part of the recipe to defeat de Minaur, who did well to make the second set as competitive as it was during Svajda’s unsustainable purple patch.
On one of the American’s set points, de Minaur slid so far for a forehand that he did the splits and fell on the slippery grass behind the baseline. Many others would have given up, but he jumped to his feet, dug out a deep backhand to push Svajda back, and eventually drew an error.
It was classic Demon behaviour and only a brief stay of execution in the set, but a reminder for Svajda of the type of tennis he would need to produce to complete the job. On this occasion at least, he was not up to it.
“I need to remind myself more frequently that best-of-five is a completely different beast,” de Minaur said.
“Normally, you get a bit frustrated if the opponent plays a good set, but what I should be thinking is that they need to do that for three sets. That’s not the easiest task to accomplish. On the other side is someone who’s going to make him play every single point.
“There’s going to be some heat coming as we’re getting to the tail end of this tournament, so I’m looking forward to that.”
De Minaur’s fourth-round opponent is No.9 seed, Roland-Garros finalist and sometimes practice partner Flavio Cobolli, who rallied from a slow start to defeat Karen Khachanov, 0-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-2 across four hours.
Reaching the second week of a grand slam is child’s play for de Minaur these days – he has advanced to the fourth round at 10 of his past 12 majors – but his self-stated goal is to break new ground.
That means finally busting through the quarter-final barrier after venturing that far seven times without going any further, including at Wimbledon two years ago, when a hip injury kept him from taking the court against Novak Djokovic.
Swiatek was in a similar position a year ago, having never progressed past the last eight at the All England Club, before a brilliant run climaxed with her double-bageling American Amanda Anisimova in a one-sided final.
But the former world No.1’s title defence is over, suffering a 7-6 (11-9), 6-2 defeat to fast-rising Filipina Alexandra Eala, whose already enormous fan base will only grow after her career-best triumph and heart-warming on-court interview.
“I’m really emotional,” Eala said.
“Maybe for someone like Iga, who has won so many slams, or maybe someone like Serena or Venus [Williams], this achievement may seem small. But for someone who grew up in the Philippines [this is massive].
“I went to train with my brother and grandfather every day after school with my ruffled socks, light-up shoes and chubby cheeks, so to her, this is everything.”
Swiatek was not the sole high seed to exit the tournament, with Belgian Elise Mertens stunning 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1. Anisimova also bowed out, losing her all-American battle to Madison Keys, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Seeds Alexander Zverev, Jasmine Paolini, Marta Kostyuk, Linda Noskova and Jiri Lehecka were among the other winners.
Eala is a national hero and trailblazer in the Philippines, illustrated at this year’s Australian Open, where even her practice sessions attracted an army of fans. No one from her country had won a match at a grand slam tournament before she did at last year’s US Open.
Eala rallied from a set down in the previous round to eliminate Australia’s Maya Joint, who beat Serena Williams in a thrilling three-setter on centre court in the first round.
That loss to Joint had further ramifications for Wimbledon and Williams, who sustained a right knee injury in the match. After days of speculation, the 23-time major champion withdrew from the doubles with her sister Venus.
“I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles. Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside Venus once more meant the world to me,” Williams posted on Instagram.
“I did everything I could to be ready, but unfortunately, my knee just isn’t ready to compete.
“I’m especially grateful to tournament director Jamie Baker, and the entire tournament team, for giving me every opportunity to play here. Thank you to the fans for your incredible support and for making this comeback so meaningful. All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you.”
Marc McGowan travelled to London with Tennis Australia’s support.
Watch Wimbledon from 7.30pm (AEST) nightly on the Nine Network and Stan Sport.
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