By Shrivathsa Sridhar
MELBOURNE, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Alex de Minaur reached back-to-back Australian Open quarter-finals on Sunday but the sixth seed acknowledged he now faces one of the toughest challenges in tennis to keep his dream Melbourne Park run going.
The 26-year-old Australian’s reward for a 6-4 6-1 6-1 win over 10th seed Alexander Bublik was a showdown on Tuesday with world number one Carlos Alcaraz, a man he has not defeated in five previous meetings.
Despite his poor record against the Spaniard, De Minaur said he was relishing their first clash in a Grand Slam as he looks to become the first homegrown winner of the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup since Mark Edmondson five decades ago.
“I’ve got one of the toughest tasks ahead, right? So I’m going to make sure that I bring everything I’ve got,” De Minaur told reporters after a third straight-sets win in four matches.
“It does help out that I’m feeling fresh, and it’s going to be a physical battle, because there are many things that Carlos does incredibly well on a tennis court, and one of that is making the rallies quite physical.
“He’s got the ability to not only hit the ball incredibly well and try to hit you off the court at times, but also extend rallies. So there could be some gruelling exchanges. We both have shown that in the couple of matches we’ve played.
“So this will be the first time playing a Grand Slam match, and I’m looking forward to what’s to come. Hopefully it’s going to be a battle and it’s going to be a long one.”
De Minaur had already reached six Grand Slam quarter-finals and is yet to cross that hurdle.
“My job is to go out there and compete and let my tennis do the talking,” he added.
“What everyone else can decide before the match is their opinions. They ultimately can sit on their couch and decide X, Y, Z. After the match is done, they’ll have whatever else they want to say about the match, but that’s just it.
“There’s nothing I can do to control that. I’m not going to come out here and plead for Australia to believe in me. I’m going to go after the match. I’m excited for the battle.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Melbourne, editing by Ed Osmond)
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