It’s a happy day for the Aussie No.1 Alex de Minaur. For the first time in his decade-long tennis career, he’s reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, matching his record of his other three slams. This was a result of a hard-fought victory over Alex Michelson, who upset Stefanos Tsitipas in the first round, 6-0, 7-6(7-5), 6-3. As hyped as he must be, his supporters must be thrilled just the same. He’s one step closer to possibly bringing home, and home is where the heart is.

Speaking of home, de Minaur had a thrilling match at Rod Laver Arena, where his mother, Esther and his father, Anibal, cheered him on alongside his fiancee, Katie Boulter. The atmosphere was electric as the Aussie dominated the first set against Alex Michelsen, wrapping it up in just 27 minutes with a perfect 6-0 score.

Although initially broke ahead in the second set, Michelsen fought back fiercely to even things up, pushing the match into a tense tie-break. De Minaur found his rhythm again, winning crucial points to take the second set, and despite Michelsen’s improved play in the third, a slip in the sixth game allowed De Minaur to secure the match after saving a break point.

Meanwhile, the camera captured a touching moment involving his mother. As de Minaur clinched the final point and shook his opponent’s hand at the net, the stands erupted in a wave of emotion.

The 14,820-capacity stadium’s crowd roared and rose to the feet. Tears welled up in her mother’s eyes, and she stood up to hug her husband and then De Minaur’s fiancee, Katie Boulter, who was seated in the row in front of her. “His mum Esther, [is] overwhelmed,” Todd Woodbridge said on Channel 9’s broadcast. Are you emotional as well?

The official Australian Open Instagram account shared the scene, captioned, “A win that meant more 🫶🇦🇺 The moment Alex de Minaur reached his first AO quarterfinal and his mum Esther couldn’t contain her emotion 🥹”

He now faces world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who leads their head-to-head 9-0, having never dropped a set against De Minaur. To reach his first Grand Slam semi-final, De Minaur will need to deliver an exceptional performance. How does he feel about going into this match now?

Alex de Minaur gets candid about facing Sinner once again

After defeating 20-year-old Alex Michelsen, the Aussie is riding high with newfound confidence as he joins the final eight at the Australian Open. In a post-match interview at Rod Laver Arena, he expressed his pride, declaring, “It means the world” to become the 35th Australian man to reach this stage and only the third since 2005, alongside legends Lleyton Hewitt and Nick Kyrgios.

Reflecting on his career, he added, “My whole career has been day-by-day, it hasn’t been overnight. I’ve had to keep improving every year, in little increments, to get a little bit stronger and bigger. I’ve been working on getting more free points on my serve and a little bit more confidence. Consistency always pays off in the end.” De Minaur’s journey has been nothing short of relentless, with two titles already in 2024 and a perfect 17-0 record against lower-ranked players at this major.

The stakes are now higher than ever as De Minaur prepares for a daunting clash with world No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner in the final eight. Sinner leads their head-to-head 9-0, including a straight-sets win in their last encounter at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals semifinals. Despite this history, De Minaur remains optimistic.

Speaking of Sinner’s recent four-set win over Holger Rune, he said, ““I did get to watch his match today,” the Australian said when asked about his next opponent. “It was an interesting one – that’s for sure. I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be an incredibly tough match, and I’m going to have to do something I haven’t done before, but why not start here?”

The Aussie will need to deliver his best performance yet to overcome Sinner and reach his first Grand Slam semi-final. Will de Minaur get his revenge this time around at the first grand slam of the season? Share your thoughts in the comments.