Righto, that’s us for today. Of course, we’ll have reports on tonight’s two big matches, but otherwise join us again tomorrow for the women’s semis: Jessica Pegula v Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova v Karolina Muchova or Naomi Osaka. This competition is shaping up! But until then, peace out.
“Anisimova has really exorcised the demons of that Wimbledon final drubbing only a few months ago,” says Gavriella Epstein-Lightman. “A key reason she’s winning is tactical: Swiatek is trying to outhit her, but Anisimova possesses supreme ballstriking ability so won’t be cowed. Instead, Swiatek needs to get Anisimova moving laterally. Anisimova, incidentally, is using this very gameplay, pushing Swiatek into the backhand corner before finishing off the point with a backhand winner.”
Today is the best I’ve ever seen Anisimova move. Swiatek did try to put her on the bike, but then she just hit on the run.
Asked why today was different, Anisimova, collapsing into giggles, says “playing here is so freaking special”. To come back from Wimbledon is really special and she’s proved she can do it against anyone. From the start she was trying to fire herself up, Swiatek is one of the best players she’s ever played, and she’s very happy.
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But can she keep playing like that? Maybe! Next gor her, Muchova or Osaka.
Amanda Anisimova (8) beats Iga Swiatek (2) 6-4 6-3
She wins it with another net cord! But what a performance from Anismova, especially after what happened at Wimbledon – playing like that, she can beat anyone.
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Swiatek saves the first and there follows a double! Can Anisimova compose? Silence…
A winner, a massive, kicking second serve down the T. Is Anisimova tightening? She is not! Another booming serve is too hot to Swiatek to handle, and this has been near-perfection. 40-0 and three match points…
Anisimova is almost playing Swiatek like Wawrinka played Djokovic and Nadal when he beat them in grand slam finals, going after everything in the knowledge that if you have a good day you’re almost unbeatable. She thwacks to 0-30 but we’re soon at 30-all …then yet another winner raises break point, with a second serve to assault. Except Swiatek saves her the bother – she knew was was coming – serving into the net! At 6-4 5-3, Anisimova will now serve for the match!
I’m not sure there’s a sweeter timer of the ball in the game than Anisimova, who races to 40-0. But a forehand winner right on to the baseline is followed by a putaway at net; 40-30 and pressure. Swiatek’s return is decent, Anisimova clobbers into the net cord … and the power takes it over! She leads 6-4 4-3, and I daresay she fancies going after it in the next game.
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A winner and Anisimova has 15-all, then Swiatek nets … she’s in a bit of a situation here, especially when she then serves wide. But the hardest delivery in the book, advantage court to the backhand, sets up the point, and she’s soon up 40-3, closing it out in short order. Anisimova leads 6-4 3-3.
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At 30-0, Anisimova misses a backhand, not words one supposes to type often; she redeems it in the grand style, clobbering an ace down the T. But Swiatek, trying to turn her opponent’s purple patch against her, makes 40-30 thanks to a tremendous return, then dominates the next rally, Anisimova directed about the court … only to stick in it long enough to elicit the error! She leads 6-4 3-2, and there’s pressure on Swiatek now, who knows one lax service-game could mean curtains.
Did Anisimova lose a bit of focus after winning the first set? In fairness, Swiatek put it on her from the start, but she didn’t respond with requisite intensity. She holds for 1-2, then nails three blinding returns, the last of them, inside-out on the forehand, raising two break points. So Swiatek again deploys the body-serve, saves one … but yet another missile from the back converts the second! This is brilliant from Anisimova, and we’re back on serve in set two; she leads 6-4 2-2.
At 40-0, the consolidation looks inevitable, but seconds later, Anisimova nails a backhand winner off return for 40-30, leaping into a deflection that’s past Swiatek almost as she lands. But from there, the consolidation is secured, Anisimova leading 6-4 0-2.
In comms Marion explains that with Anisimova, it’s all about the footwork, because if she can get to the ball, her natural timing and power are almost unstoppable. After the first set, Swiatek nipped off with her Roland Garros notebook, and she soon makes 15-30; a double follows, Anisimova going for a huge second serve, but now she’s facing two break points and a forehand return to the tootsies accounts for the first. Swiatek trails 0-1 but leads 1-0.
Amanda Anisimova wins the first set to lead Iga Swiatek 6-4
A couple of good returns help Anisimova make 15-30; she’s not letting Swiatek get away with anything and, as I type, she lands another banging return, on to the line having zoned low over the net. And at 5-4 15-40, it raises two set points. Swiatek them finds a temporary solution, a body-serve than restricts the swing, but she’s outhit from the back in the next rally, dropping well long, and Anisimova has just played probably the best set of her career.
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A thumping return from Swiatek makes deuce, anisimovaing Anisimova, but then the real thing returns, a violent forehand winner setting up a quickly converted advantage. The American leads 5-4 in the first, and this is a statement performance … so far.
Chalé! At 15-all, Anisimova is bang in the rally, but somehow, pinned to the line and with no time to move, Swiatek flows into an inside-out backhand pick-up for a winner that’s the shot of the match so far. The American, though, has taken a liking to Swiatek’s second serve, attacking it to make 30-all … only to slap wide the next. But she’s into this, saving game point with her patented backhand down the line; it might be the best shot in the game right now, and her aggression is bothering Swiatek. On deuce she serves long then, under it, one that dribbles into the net … only to dictate a brilliant point to restore parity. And have a look! Now it’s Swiatek hitting a huge winner, inside-out on the forehand, and this is by the far the highest-level match i’ve seen in the tournament. Both players are absolutely having at it, and it’s glorious to behold. We’re level at 4-4 in the first.
It’s great to see Anisimova turning up like this. She serves bombs through a love hold to lead 4-3 and it now feels like this match will be decided by s few big points – there’s not loads between the players on this surface and in this form. And Anisimova has been hinting that she might be ready to challenge the elite for a while because she has weapons that few can match.
Anisimova closes from 0-30 to 30-all, but Swiatek finds a big first serve when she needs it. This is already a really enjoyable match, an inside-out winner on return moving us to deuce. And from there, Iga closes out, sealing the hold and 3-3 with an ace.
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One evaporates when Swiatek improbably edges a leaping forehand, the other when she nets a forehand; you can imagine how much she likes that. And she’ll be equally amused when a second-serve ace flies past, then is literally splitting her sides when an Exocet of an inside-out backhand hisses just inside the sideline. Anisimova leads 3-2.
At 15-all, a double offers Anisimova a push, but again her forehand lets her down. It’s not a bad shot, but how well she hides it might decide the match because Swiatek has the tools to bother anyone’s. The Wimbledon champ holds for 2-2, then Tim praises “the knowledgable crowd” for … knowing how the Wimbledon final ended, as they cheered when Anisimova got off the mark. I’m not sure the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, has anything to fear at this stage. Swiatek holds for 2-2, then raises two break points at 15-40…
Another game, another ace, and this time a love hold. Anisimova is getting comfy at 2-1 in the first.
Attacked from the back, Swiatek goes long for 0-15; a pair of winners follow, earning three break-back points for Anisimova. If she can take one, she also sends a message; if she can’t, she does too. In comms, Marion points out that her forehand is being targeted, flat and hard – because her backhand is immense –and Swiatek quickly makes 30-40. But that aforementioned backhand won’t be denied, two missiles setting up the swing-volley putaway; Anisimova has her game, she’s into the match, and this is building nicely at 1-1 in the first.
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Anisimova will be desperate to get on the board but two errors, overhitting, mean she's soon down 15-30. From there, though, and with the help of an ace, she makes game point … but then nets for deuce. She’ll be feeling it, the memory of her Wimbledon final double-bagelling fresh in the memory, and two further errors hand Swiatek an immediate break at 1-0 in the first. I missed who won the toss, but i’d not be at all surprised if she put Anisimova in, hoping to up the pressure. Either way, she leads.
Amanda Anisimova to serve. Ready … sit quickly please behind the players … play.
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I picked the underdog in the last match so I’m going to go again: I’m backing Anisimova to spring a surprise because I think her serve and groundstrokes can dictate.
Coming up next: Amanda Anisimova (8) v Iga Swiatek (2). I’m going to take a quick screen-break, but the match is previewed at the start of the blog.
I’m chuffed for Felix, who knows what his potential was relative to the player he is – that’s a lot to carry around. He might’ve shrunk when the second set looked like going against him and came back from a break down in set four too, which is a sign of his tenacity. He’ll know that if he plays on Friday as he did today, he’s getting slapped, but the release of winning a match he’ll have felt he had to will release the pressure, and anything from here is gravy.
Felix laughs when asked about his nerves during the breaker, saying there were nerves from both all the way through, acknowledging that it wasn’t pretty. But he was willing to dig deep and, having made his first semi since 2021, he says it feels longer than four years ago and it’s amazing to be back. There’s still tennis to play and the biggest challenges are yet to come, but that’s what he lives for and he’ll be ready for his match on Friday.
Felix Auger-Aliassime (25) beats Alex de Minaur (8) 4-6 7-6(7) 7-5 7-6(4)
Auger-Aliassime only needs one! He managed to hold it down just a little bit better, and moves into the semi leaping with joy; he’ll meet Sinner or Musetti. As for our poor Demon, he’s out of there quicksmart, a long, complex and painful healing process awaiting him.
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Felix thrashes away on forehand, a banger then three more, and eventually De Minaur goes long in response! At 6-4, here come two match points!
Whoever loses is, I’m afraid to say, destined for a long night of the soul, because whichever of the two it is, he’ll know he’s not done themselves justice out there. And as if to prove the point Felix surrenders his advantage via double … then Demon restores it in identical fashion! They’re drowning in opportunity and possibility here, Auger-Aliassime up 5-3; De Minaur closes, but here comes Felix, serving atat 5-4. These are the most important points of his life…
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Look at that! A really good return to a serve that takes him wide keeps Felix in the point then, when Demon doesn’t do enough, he pastes a forehand winner down the line for 3-2 and he’s four holds away from the semis! He quickly makes it three, extending his lead to 4-2 at change of ends!
Er, frazzled: a demon double hands Felix an immediate mini-break; Felix responds with one of his own, the match in microcosm. They want it so much it’s painful to watch, which is, as the late great MC Ruff would say, “just the way we like it”. Further mini-breaks are then swapped, and we’re at 2-2, Auger-Aliassime leading by two sets to one.
We’ve been going nearly four hours for our nearly four sets, and both men look pretty fresh; I can’t imagine the pain they’ve suffered to get them in this kind of shape. And as if to prove the point, Felix monfilses an overhead, on the leap and on the retreat, a quite rrrrrridiculous piece of athleticism; it makes him 30-15, from there he quickly closes out, and here comes another breaker. How are your nerves, lads?
Felix nets when he shouldn’t for 15-0, then at 15-all, a cunning inside-out backhand winner noses De Minaur back in front and a big forehand makes 40-15, before a netted return secures the hold. Leading 2-1 but down 5-6, Auger-Aliassime must now serve to stay in set four. Can he keep himself calm?
This such a strange match, but it’s also an absorbing one, and at 40-15, Auger-Aliassime looks set for a hold, but at 40-30 he’s under pressure … only for De Minaur to waft a backhand long. At 6-4 6-7 5-7 5-5, he’s a situation to resolve.
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Oh! Felix quickly makes 0-30, and having commanded the set, he’s now in danger of tamely returning his advantage. And have a look! A terrific lob, beautiful disguised, takes control of the point, De Minaur flicking it over on the leap but, out of position, he loses the point, and at 0-40, Auger-Aliassime has three chances to break back … and only needs one! Demon expended so much energy to nose in front and in seconds, he gives it away! In fairness to Felix, he played more aggressively in that game, and now leads 2-1 4-5. We keep saying it, but neither player can play well enough for long enough to take control.
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Felix holds to 15 and at 2-1 5-3, De Minaur will now serve for set four.
Another hold for De Minaur and Felix is serving to stay in set four at 2-5. He’ll want to hold, even if Demon ends up clinching the set to go first in the decider.
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A better game from Felix, who holds to 15 for 2-1 2-4, and though it’s Demon dominating, in a one-set shoot-out, I’d generally lean towards the bigger server.
A love consolidation and De Minaur is amped. He leads 4-1 in the fourth, now the dominant player. But can he break the pattern of the match and sustain a decent level?
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OK, Demon makes 0-30 courtesy of two errors … then a booming serve out wide halves the deficit. No matter: Felix finds a decent forehand, but when it comes back with interest, he skews wide, ceding two break points, and a netted backhand donates the break! De Minaur is playing with far greater authority than before, and at 3-1 he’s in good shape to force a decider.
A longish rally from the back, both players hitting it hard, then Demon approaches with a forehand guided down the line, rushing in to dispatch a volley before shouting his lungs out. From there, he secures the hold for 1-2 2-1, and this is much better stuff.
Now a swift hold for Felix to make it 1-1 in the third, and might it be, at long last, that both players are doing what they’re meant to do?
A swift hold for the Demon, who’ll be feeling the opportunity of his life slipping away; that’s a lot to process … just as it is when the opportunity of your life feelsewithin reach. Auger-Aliassime leads 4-6 7-6 7-5 0-1.
Difficulty handling pressure appears to be contagious.
Perhaps our players should take a quick 10 in the fridge.
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Felix Auger-Aliassime takes the third set 7-5 to lead Alex de Minaur 2-1
A vicious ace down the T secures the lead, and whoever loses will carry their no-show around for a very, very long time. You’ve got to feel for them.
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Felix rushes to 30-0, serving as he was before he had to serve out; of course, as I type, a double ushers De Minaur into the game and raises the intensity yet further. This time, though, he responds with an ace, only to swipe wide at the end of a long rally. At 40-30, the set remains in the balance!
Felix explodes into a forehand to earn 30-all, then Demon errs on one of his own; a long return ruins break point immediately, and to deuce we go; another mistake gives up advantage … then a long forehand means another break! At 6-5 and having barely done anything, Auger-Aliassime will shortly serve for set three! I can’t believe how badly De Minaur is playing.
De Minaur makes 30-40 so here comes the biggest point of the match so far … and Felix goes long on the forehand yet again! Again, neither man can play well enough for long enough to take command, the occasion and opportunity messing with their minds. We’re back level at 1-1 5-5.
I can’t remember the last time I saw Demon, normally so solid, make so many errors. Before the match, he was talking about how great he felt and I guess knowing that, and knowing he’s got a match he expects to win to make his first grand slam semi, takes away all excuses for failure. If he loses, it’s his fault – a heavy burden to carry, all the more so when you’ve no idea if such opportunity will present itself again. Meantime, a fine volley from Felix makes 30-all, and he’s two points away from 2-1.
At 30-all, a better point for Demon, in to the net to put away a deft volley. From there, he closes out, forcing Felix to serve for the set at 5-4 and upping the pressure to level minging.
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A huge and straightforward hold for Auger-Aliassime, who leads 5-3 in the third and is a hold away from going up 2-1. If he can see that out, he’s a big favourite to go on, because his serve should get him at least one breaker, while Demon is still struggling to land his first delivery.
At 40-15, another booming forehand down the line gives Felix a sniff, and he might just be growing into this; he’s certainly the better player for the now, but given the chance to hit another telling ball, he picks the wrong side, picking out De Minaur, who blocks it back for a winner and 1-1 3-4.
The inability of either man to rise to the occasion does not bode well for their chances in a semi against Sinner, though I guess in that situation, the pressure might relax and both would be expected to lose heavily. Because that’s where we are in men’s tennis now: Sinner and Alcaraz look too good for anyone but each other and actually, I wonder if, after over a decade of wild happenings, we’re getting somewhere similar in the women’s game with Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff and Osaka. We shall see. Meantime, I’d not be remotely surprised if De Minaur breaks back here, and shonuff Felix, down 15-30, nails a pair of forehands before, asked to play an extra ball, he nets a simple volley. But have a look! A service winner saves the first break-back point, then a forehand down the line look out for all the world, but somehow, the outermost fibre of the ball tickles the outermost fibre of the line, and when Auger-Aliassime makes advantage, demon volleys the ball wot done it into the crowd, not the kind of emotion we usually see from him. Seconds later, another error hands over the consolidation, and that might be an important game in the unfolding of this contest, Felix up 1-1 4-2.
Felix looks like he’s playing in hiking boots, which’d explain a few things, but an error from Demon gives him 15-40 and a first serve into the net burnishes a glittering opportunity. And De Minaur compounds the problem by delivering wide! Auger-Aliassime has the break and leads 3-2 in the third!
Demon tries to get himself going, collaring a forehand down the line for 30-all and hollering encouragement to himself. For all the good it does him: From there, Felix serves out, securing the hold with an ace, and this is still so tight at 1-1 2-2.
A swift half hold apiece and De Minaur leads 2-1 in the third, doing so to love for the first time since the second game of the match. This match is there for whichever player can forget the gravity of the situation to play their natural game.
I guess both players are fully aware of the magnitude of this contest in the context of their careers; I’m not surprised they’re nervous, assuming that’s the main reason for the drop in level following their fourth-round matches. That second set was, by the way, the longest of the championships so far, and Demon will, I’m sure, still be carrying the second serve he failed to punish when up break point at 5-5. Anyhow, he holds easily for 1-1 1-0, and that’s a bit more like it from him.
The quality hasn’t been great, but the compulsion is high level. I’ve not a clue who’s going to win this, but whoever it is, if they face Jannik Sinner in the last four and play in similar style to today, they’re getting chewed up.
Felix auger-Aliassime takes the second set 7-6(7) to level his match with Alex de Minaur at one set all
Now then. Felix sends a return close to the line and Demon struggles to get behind it, off balance when he hits a forehand and here comes the first set point of the breaker on serve, Auger-Aliassime with it … and De Minaur nets! Somehow, from a break down and after saving set point, Felix levels us up at 1-1! He’s playing poorly, but in a way that’ll now encourage him because he’ll know that if he hits a better level, the semis are there for him.
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De Minaur unloads a fine return to the backhand corner but this time, he can’t follow it up, straying long, and at 6-7 he must now serve at set-point down; a return falls long, and we’re back level.
De Minaur hands back the mini-break but is quickly presented with a fresh one, Auger-Aliassime botching yet another forehand for 4-5. But sometimes, poor play is contagious, and we wind up at 5-5 thanks to another error from the Aussie. But he partially redeems himself by again sticking in a rally with absurd de-fence; he now has set point at 6-5, saved with a 125mph ace down the T; 6-6 it is
Auger-Aliassime nabs an immediate mini-break, then returns it via double. He just can’t play well enough for long enough to get anywhere, and at 2-2 it’s beginning to look like De Minaur will eventually prevail, one way or the other … and, as I type, he again get back into a point via dug-out lob, Felix nets, and at 3-2, it’s Demon with the mini-break, quickly consolidated into 4-2.
Demon has, we’re told, hit 87 first serves and 53 second, quite a total when you consider we’re still in set two. But as we said at the top, Felix is not much of a returner, a hold to 15 securing a second-set breaker; it goes without saying that he has to win this, but as we know, things that go without saying are still generally said. Is that phrase a contradiction in terms? An oxymoron? Or maybe tautology?
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Aaaarrrrgggghhh! Consecutive errors from Felix turn 30-15 into 30-40, and these are big points coming up. If De Minaur breaks here, it’ll be hard to see him losing, but a return into the net – when delivered a weak second serve – takes us to deuce. That was a proper chance, and from there, two big serves, the second an ace, restore Auger-Aliassime’s second-set advantage at 4-6 6-5.
Another missed first serve, another missed return; Felix can’t say he’s not had chances, and a forehand sent unnecessarily into the net means it’s soon 30-0 … then 40-0. But at 40-15, De Minaur nets a backhand, missed another first serve, and as the rally progresses, Auger-Aliassime strokes a backhand winner down the line to make deuce. He’s two points away from the set, but two unforced errors – two more unforced errors – donate the hold, and Demon leads 6-4 5-5.
Felix rushes to 40-15 but a double offers Demon a sniff; a body-serve, though, is returned into the net and at 6-4 4-5, the Aussie will shortly serve to stay in an engaging bju low-quality set two.
De Minaur has dropped, two unforced errors handing over 30-all. But he knows enough to finagle a hold, now leading 6-4 4-4, and the standard here is less than stellar.
Felix broke back in double-quick time and holds in similar fashion; just as he looked to be fading, he’s found a way back in, attacking but with more control, and this next De Minaur service-game is a biggun.
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Maybe this’ll get him going: Auger-Aliassime sends a flat forehand spinning cross-court for a sensational winner and 15-all and is he finally going after the multitude of second serves he’s facing? You bet he is, a weak second serve given the treatment at 15-40, allowing another forehand winner to secure the break-back. De Minaur leads 6-4 3-3, but might we be watching momentum switch?
Felix is caught between two stools: he’s not hitting consistently enough to unleash, but if he’s tentative, as he was at the end of that last game, he’ll lose. It won’t be surprising if, in the disappointment of putting in all that effort to not break, he’s broken himself and, as I type, a leaping volley from close to the net arranges Demon 15-40. He can’t take the first opportunity, but snaffles the second, and at 6-4 3-2, he leads by a set and a break. This match is disappearing, fast.
This is a massive game for Felix, who’s burned two break point in it, and when De Minaur wrongfoots him with a backhand, coaxed down the line, it’s over. The Aussie leads 6-4 2-2.
Now then. Felix unloads on a forehand and it earns him 0-30 … at which point a powercut intervenes, my picture returning to see Demon still serving but up advantage. Comms lets me know he’s still trying to hit service-winners and Auger-Aliassime groundstroke winners, neither especially successfully, and a netted forehand takes us back to deuce, for the eighth time in the game.
Oh my goodness! Demon races in for a volley, is lobbed, and somehow responds with a lob of his own … that’s also a tweener! That is absolutely ridiculous behavioiur. Felix tries to get it back in similar style but can’t, and 15-all soon becomes 15-30, but from there, he finds what he needs to hold for 4-6 2-1. De Minaur, though, is now the better player.
A gorgeous drop makes 0-15 then, at 40-30, a rare unforced error from De Minaur, a backhand into the net, takes us to deuce. So Felix unleashes a terrifying forehand … only for Demon to stick in the point, switch momentum, and incite an error borne of frustration. Seconds later, the hold is secured for 6-4 1-1.
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The problem Felix has is that he doesn’t want to go for too much, but he also doesn’t want to get bogged down in long, sapping rallies against someone more suited to them. Thing is, he has enough power to dictate without going mad with it, he just needs to pull back a little, either with power or with seeking lines … and, as I type, he finds himself a break-point down … making deuce with a big serve. A second-serve ace out wide then earns advantage … but another error restores deuce and from there he secures an important hold. Though De Minaur leads 6-4 0-1, the sense is that the game is on Auger-Aliassime’s racket: if his hitting works, he wins, and if it doesn’t, he doesn’t.
Alex de Minaur takes the first set against Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4
A really poor miss from Felix, on the backhand with loads of space to hit, hands over advantage and a second set point, then an overhit forehand confirms it. Despite not landing a single first serve in the game, De Minaur leads 6-4, and Felix will be raging at his inability to profit. It does not augur-aliassime well.
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Felix makes 15-0 but a big forehand to the backhand corner – exactly the kind of shot Demon is looking to play – levels the game. But he’s struggling a bit on first serve now, forced to rely on his fabled retrieval skills when a booming forehand takes control of the rally, before cleverly switching momentum and forcing the error; 30-15. But another big forehand from Auger-Aliassime is good enough to win the next point and we wind up at 5-4 deuce; this is developing into an absorbing struggle.
Two aces in the game as Felix makes 40-15, but a leaping animal of a forehand gives Demon a sniff … before the hold is secured. After a sit-down, the Aussie will serve for the first set at 5-4.
De Minaur does enough, securing a huge hold for 5-3 in the first. Felix needs to pull back on his forehand just a little, his opponent’s ability to retrieve inciting him to go for a little too much.
Down 0-15, an ace down the T levels the game, then Felix comes in and somehow, Demon hooks a forehand past him – I think he leaves it – and it sails inside the line. A double, though, restores parity at 30-all, then a backhand swiped wide donates break-back point; already it looks like these two are exceptionally well matched. And though De Minaur saves advantage, he’s soon facing another, a long rally develops, Felix in charge, but the second he drops a ball short it’s punished back at him and so it’s to deuce once more.
The first is seized back via ace, the second almost so. But a fault is called then, during a longer rally, Auger-Aliassime running around his backhand on every shot, he eventually goes long and De Minaur has the break, up 4-3 in the first set.
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For anyone wondering why this isn’t being done in the game-by-game format, it’s because we’ve got two matches and potentially – hopefully – eight hours of action. So to save my sanity, we’re doing it this way and, as I type, Felix pushes a forehand wide to give De Minaur 0-30 and the first glimmer of an opportunity. Which he forces home with a really good backhand down the line, raising three break points in the process…
Two more straightforward holds; Felix, who leads 3-2 is serving beautifully. But can he make an impression on De Minaur’s delivery? The Demon has worked hard to put on a bit more muscle, so there’s more on his balls now, but he’s working with weaker raw materials than pretty much everyone in the elite, which is why he’s never gone beyond the last eight of a major. As we said at the top, this is a huge opportunity for him, because Felix is an opponent he’ll fancy himself to beat, whereas Zverev is in that tier of players he rarely beats.
Now an easy hold for Demon, and though it’s possible one of these takes three tight sets, the sense is that we’re settling in for a good few hours. Let’s hope so: we’ve had too many one-sided matches these last 10 days and we’re due a classic. That said, I really enjoyed the beating Osaka put on Gauff, with Muchova v Kostyuk probably my most enjoyed match so far. Meantime, Felix nails an ace for 40-30, then spanks a forehand into the corner. But De Minaur hoists a moon-ball of a lob and the overhead goes into the net; at 1-1 deuce, here comes pressure … quickly alleviated with a monstrous serve and follow-up overhead. That’s a really good sign, given what happened in the previous point, and when the Demon nets, he leads 2-1 in the first, on serve.
Auger-Aliassime holds to 15, looking pretty good while doing it. He’s into the match and looks good and businesslike. And for extra points, he’s got Daffy Duck on his shirt.
Daffy Duck, what a legend. I can’t say I don’t enjoy Bugs’ smarm and smartarsery, I do, but ultimately Daffy is my boy.
Updated
And off we go.
And out they come.
Both our players are engaged, soon to be married. Mazal tov, boys.
I guess we might look at Felix and say yeah, but Zverev hasn’t been the same since his Aussie Open final undressing, just as Rublev is on the way down too. And we’d be right to: perspective is important. However he’s taken both apart and is talking like someone who’s ready; who knows his time is now.
Oh Demon! Ohhhh maaaaaate!
Someone chuck that man a lifebelt, he’s drowning.
I really like that Sky have, finally, started giving us proper analysis; Ryan Harrison is a terrific addition to the team. Currently, he’s showing us Anisimova’s footwork off the return, a little hop to the left opening both sides of the court. She was superb in outclassing Bia Haddad Maia last round and I really fancy her to make if difficult for Swiatek on hard, and really respect the way she’s come back after Wimbledon when she might’ve felt sorry for herself after folding so publicly. If she plays close to her best today, I think she wins … but Swiatek has the skill to ensure she doesn’t.
I strongly fancy Felix in our first match, on the basis that if he plays well, he’ll have too much for De Minaur, who has a higher bottom level but a lower top level. It’s a form thing really – Auger-Aliassime has played three great matches in a row and is in the nock of his life. He’ll be made to play a lot of balls, but has the ability to explode with winners, which the Demon does not.
Preamble
Yes yes ya’ll and welcome to the US Open 2025 – day 11!
Some years ago now, a tennis coach mate messaged me excitedly, telling me he’d seen the future: a kid with power and grace who moved more beautifully than anyone he’d seen before. Amazingly, so good was he at 16 that the only relevant comparators were Boris Becker and Rafael Nadal.
That kid was Felix Auger-Aliassime and, it’s fair to say, he hasn’t quite progressed as expected. Of course he had weaknesses back then, most particularly his second serve, his return and his volleying, but even when granted the gift of a Covid hiatus to get them sorted, they stayed pretty much the same as they always were.
Now, at 25, the sense is that he is what he is: a bloody good player who’ll never be grand slam champion – whatever his natural gifts insist he’s capable of. And yet, and yet, and yet. In the last two rounds, he’s accounted for Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev for the loss of just one set, playing close to as well as he can, and in Alex de Minaur finds an eminently beatable last-eight opponent, able to scurry and retrieve as well as anyone on tour, but lacking the weapons to dominate. For both men, this is a moment, a major quarter-final against the other the kind chance that may never come round again.
Following them on to court is a redemption battle of epic proportions. When Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova met in the Wimbledon final, the result was a historic 6-0 6-0 humiliation that will haunt the American until the day she does and perhaps beyond. She fought for years, making all the usual sacrifices sportsfolk do, was brave enough to take a mental health break, then returned, realised a dream, and stood powerless as it was mercilessly devastated in front of the world.
On a hard court, though, she’ll fancy her chances of hitting at the top of the bounce, her casual power enough to disquiet anyone – even Swiatek who, though she’s rediscovered herself in recent months, is not far removed from a major downturn in form and confidence. The Wimbledon champ is the favourite, but Anisimova has everything required to get after her in what should be an absolutely banging contest.
Play: 11.30am local, 4.30pm BST
