Ninth-seed Alex de Minaur will be bidding to progress to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the first time in his career when he takes on surprise package Arthur Fils on Monday.
De Minaur received a walkover in the third round of the competition, with his opponent Lucas Pouille pulling out of the contest due to injury, while Fils reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career by beating Roman Safiullin.
Match preview
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Ahead of this tournament, Fils had never managed to progress past the second round of a Grand Slam, but he has created history at Wimbledon, with the talented 20-year-old present in round four.
Fils, who is currently ranked number 37 in the world, was impressive in his first-round contest against Dominic Stricker, winning in four sets to set up a clash with Hubert Hurkacz.
The evenly-matched contest was actually being led 2-1 by Hurkacz, with the fourth set at 6-6, and on match point, when the seventh seed was forced to retire through injury.
Fils then tackled Safiullin in the third round, running out a 3-2 winner, to secure his position in the final 16, and the Frenchman will now be looking for what would be a stunning quarter-final spot.
The youngster knows what it takes to overcome De Minaur, meanwhile, as he recorded a 7-5 6-2 win over the Australian when the two locked horns in Barcelona earlier this year.
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De Minaur, meanwhile, came out on top in all three tie-breaks in his first-round contest against James Duckworth, before beating Jaume Munar in three sets in the second round.
The 25-year-old was set to tackle Pouille in the third round of the competition, but his opponent pulled out of the match through injury, with De Minaur therefore automatically advancing to the round of 16.
De Minaur, who is currently the world number nine, is aiming to reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the first time in his career, having fallen at this hurdle back in 2022.
The Australian has twice been present in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, reaching the final eight of the US Open back in 2020 and then in the French Open earlier this year.
De Minaur will be the favourite to triumph on Monday, but as mentioned, he lost to Fils earlier this year, and the 20-year-old will be full of confidence heading into this contest.
Tournament so far
Arthur Fils:
First round: vs. Dominic Stricker 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-4
Second round: vs. Hubert Hurkacz 7-6[2] 6-4 2-6 6r-6
Third round: vs. Roman Safiullin 4-6 6-3 1-6 6-4 6-3
Alex de Minaur:
First round: vs. James Duckworth 7-6[1] 7-6[3] 7-6[4]
Second round: vs. Jaume Munar 6-2 6-2 7-5
Third round: vs. Lucas Pouille (walkover)
Head To Head
Barcelona (2024) - Round of 16: Fils 7-5 6-2
The two players met in the round of 16 of the 2024 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell back in April, and it was Fils that recorded a 7-5 6-2 win to advance, but he was then beaten by Dusan Lajovic in the quarter-finals.
We say: De Minaur to win in five sets
This could be a real cracker, with Fils playing some excellent tennis at Wimbledon, but it is a huge ask for the Frenchman to continue his journey in the competition.
It would not be a surprise to see Fils triumph, but we just have a feeling that De Minaur will be able to navigate his way into the final eight of the 2024 competition.
Matt Law
