A royal and a knight were watching on at the All England Club as Australia’s Alex de Minaur jagged a spot in the third round at Wimbledon on Thursday.
Grinding away on a court not far from Princess of Wales Kate Middleton and British tennis legend Sir Andy Murray, who were at the All England Club to watch other matches, de Minaur defeated French veteran Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
Alex de Minaur celebrates winning a point. Getty
De Minaur was patchy. The Australian No.1 man made seven double faults and 20 unforced errors.
But the 2024 Wimbledon quarter-finalist also fired down seven aces to Mannarino’s zero and hit 21 winners to the left-handed Frenchman’s eight.
“I’m super stoked [to make it through],” de Minaur said.
“I definitely think I started better [than in the first round], and had more intent and more conviction in what I needed to do.”
De Minaur had his serve broken by the 38-year-old Frenchman in each of the first two sets, but he got his serving right as he sewed up victory in the third.
“I also knew how dangerous Adrian is,” de Minaur added.
“We’ve played each other many times, and I think we both hate playing each other … As you guys saw, there was not a lot of net clearance, not a lot of topspin, and a lot of flat, low shots.
“I’m going to have to get some treatment on my back from reaching down so much.”
In the third round, de Minaur will face the winner of American Zachary Svajda and Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak.
The Princess of Wales is the patron of the All England Club, the home of Wimbledon.
She is also a noted tennis fan and a regular attendee of Wimbledon matches.
Princess of Wales Kate Middleton and Sir Andy Murray at the All England Club on Thursday. Getty