“I’m a clay specialist!” De Minaur thrilled with Roland-Garros progress

Alex de Minaur says his progress on clay is an unexpected development

Alex de Minaur (Chryslene Caillaud/Panoramic)

Carrie Dunn

June 3, 2024

Roland Garros •Round of 16 • completed

See draw

A. De MinaurvsD. Medvedev

Despite spending so much time in Spain, Alex de Minaur has never considered himself comfortable on the clay.

That was until this year and his run at Roland-Garros – reaching the quarter-final in Paris for the very first time, which seems to be something he was not expecting.

“It’s pretty extraordinary, if you ask me. You know, I always thought that for me to play well on the clay I needed hot, lively conditions. But, you know, this whole tournament has proven otherwise, right? It’s been a complete shock to the system, to everything I ever believed in.

“Now the toughest thing is dealing with my team, because obviously they’ve got bragging rights and they give me a lot of [stick] for me complaining all these years of my level on the clay!

“But now it looks like it’s one of my best slam results – looks like I’ve converted myself into a clay specialist!”

Medvedev: I’ve never seen De Minaur play like this on clay

Certainly Daniil Medvedev, the man he beat to reach the last eight, has confidence that the Australian can go even further if he maintains his level.

“Today he played, in my opinion, probably the best match we played. I mean, it’s a different surface, but even, like, I watched his matches on clay this year to try to see which tactic to play, et cetera. I didn’t see him play like this. He was missing more. He was serving – I mean, his serve today, he was serving better than most guys I played on clay, so that was surprising.

“So the question is today he improved, like, big time in every aspect. Then it comes to the point where we know that Alex can beat anyone. I think he did already beat Novak, everyone, I don’t know, Rafa. But then it’s a question of whether you’re ready to do it week in, week out, and become 1 in the world, 2 in the world, 3 in the world. He’s close there, so he’s a top player. Then it’s a question what he does in quarters. If he plays the same like he played today or no, let’s see.”