By Marc McGowan
Alex de Minaur will head to Roland-Garros on the verge of a top-10 ranking despite a humbling defeat in Rome to nemesis Stefanos Tsitsipas in his final tune-up for the claycourt major.
Australia’s top player finally beat Tsitsipas in their 11th meeting in the Acapulco quarter-finals in March on his way to back-to-back titles at the hardcourt event, but the Greek star is a different proposition on the red dirt.
Alex De Minaur will look to break a barren spell for Australia’s men at Roland Garros.Credit: AP
Tsitsipas, one of the world’s best claycourt players and a leading contender for this year’s French Open, which begins on May 26, was in a menacing mood as he dismissed de Minaur 6-1, 6-2 in a one-hour mismatch in the fourth round of the Italian Open.
An already historically difficult match-up for de Minaur is worse on clay, where his famed ability to rush opponents is largely taken away from him.
He tried a variety of tactics to unsettle the big-striking Tsitsipas, from serve-volleying to rushing the net on the rare occasion he drew a short ball, but mostly found himself in baseline exchanges he struggled to win.
Tsitsipas hammered 15 winners to de Minaur’s four – 11 off his favoured forehand wing, including one magnificently timed lob after the Australian serve-volleyed in the fifth game of the second set.
Tsitsipas is among the main contenders for this year’s French Open crown.Credit: AP
De Minaur, who won fewer than half the points on his first serve, urged himself on in vain after almost every point he won in the second set, but his fighting spirit was not enough despite pulling back one of the breaks after falling 1-4 behind.
“I tried to do the best that I could out there on the court by bringing up the best quality, in terms of strokes – and I delivered,” Tsitsipas said.
“I was pretty consistent with my serves and ball placement, and I was able to construct those points patiently, then wait for the shorter balls to come up. I really felt like my opponent [de Minaur] felt the heaviness and depth of my ball.
“It gave me courage [and] great belief in myself that I can continue pushing, in that sense, and I knew that I had something good working for me today.”
Tsitsipas, the losing 2021 finalist, will fancy himself at Roland Garros with Rafael Nadal’s campaign under a cloud.Credit: AP
De Minaur, the world No.11, has not advanced beyond the second round in seven trips to Roland-Garros – including four first-round exits – but has never been ranked so highly at Paris, which should help his cause in gaining a friendlier draw.
The problem is there will be unseeded claycourt specialists lurking everywhere in the draw.
He enjoyed a solid claycourt season overall, highlighted by reaching the Monte-Carlo Masters quarter-finals, where he tested Novak Djokovic in a 7-5, 6-4 result.
De Minaur also upset retirement-bound Rafael Nadal en route to the last 16 at Barcelona – becoming the first Australian to beat the Spanish legend on clay – before his fourth-round showing in Rome, which included a gutsy three-set victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Rafael Nadal is no certainty to chase a record-extending 15th title at Roland Garros.Credit: Getty
A second-round loss to Nadal in Madrid was wedged between those tournaments.
“[My results on clay] aren’t great, so plenty of room for improvement,” de Minaur said after his three-hour victory over Auger-Aliassime.
“Every time I’m out here I’m enjoying it, with a proper mindset, and I think I can play well, especially when you have nice, hot conditions.
“I’m taking it a match at a time. I’m happy with a quality win on the clay today, and we move on.”
Roland-Garros has not been a happy hunting ground for Australia’s male players.
Former world No.1 Ash Barty won the 2019 women’s title and fellow retired star Sam Stosur made the 2010 final and three other semi-finals, but Nick Kyrgios’ round-of-32 efforts in 2015 and 2016 are as good as it has got on the men’s side in recent years.
Kyrgios even stopped contesting the grand slam and is still working his way back from a chronic wrist injury, extending his absence from Paris to seven years.
Jordan Thompson seems likely to just miss out on a French Open seeding, but is one of at least eight Australian men who earned direct entry into the main draw, alongside de Minaur, Alexei Popyrin, Chris O’Connell, Aleks Vukic, Rinky Hijikata, Max Purcell and Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Ajla Tomljanovic has received a wildcard for this month’s French Open.Credit: Getty
James Duckworth could make it in as well if there are five more withdrawals ahead of qualifying starting on Monday.
Fast-rising college graduate Adam Walton, who is at a career-high ranking of No.111 after finishing last year at 178, scored a main draw wildcard as part of the reciprocal arrangement between Tennis Australia and the French Tennis Federation.
Ajla Tomljanovic, who reached the last 16 in Paris a decade ago, has missed most of the season since undergoing uterine surgery in February but received TA’s wildcard for Roland-Garros.
She made a winning return to the tour at this week’s WTA 125 tournament in Parma, Italy, battling past Nuria Brancaccio in three sets.
Daria Saville is the sole Australian woman guaranteed to be in the main draw on her ranking, although Arina Rodionova is only a handful of spots away but will otherwise be in qualifying.
Astra Sharma, Taylah Preston, Olivia Gadecki, Kim Birrell, Talia Gibson, Priscilla Hon, Destanee Aiava and Jaimee Fourlis are the other Australians expected to try to qualify.
Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.