Key events
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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
