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The quality hasn\u2019t been great, but the compulsion is high level. I\u2019ve not a clue who\u2019s going to win this, but whoever it is, if they face Jannik Sinner in the last four and play in similar style to today, they\u2019re getting chewed up.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a>Felix auger-Aliassime takes the second set 7-6(7) to level his match with Alex de Minaur at one set all<\/p>\n Now then. Felix sends a return close to the line and Demon struggles to get behind it, off balance when he hits a forehand and here comes the first set point of the breaker on serve, Auger-Aliassime with it \u2026 and De Minaur nets! Somehow, from a break down and after saving set point, Felix levels us up at 1-1! He\u2019s playing poorly, but in a way that\u2019ll now encourage him because he\u2019ll know that if he hits a better level, the semis are there for him.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n De Minaur unloads a fine return to the backhand corner but this time, he can\u2019t follow it up, straying long, and at 6-7 he must now serve at set-point down; a return falls long, and we\u2019re back level.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n De Minaur hands back the mini-break but is quickly presented with a fresh one, Auger-Aliassime botching yet another forehand for 4-5. But sometimes, poor play is contagious, and we wind up at 5-5 thanks to another error from the Aussie. But he partially redeems himself by again sticking in a rally with absurd de-fence; he now has set point at 6-5, saved with a 125mph ace down the T; 6-6 it is<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Auger-Aliassime nabs an immediate mini-break, then returns it via double. He just can\u2019t play well enough for long enough to get anywhere, and at 2-2 it\u2019s beginning to look like De Minaur will eventually prevail, one way or the other \u2026 and, as I type, he again get back into a point via dug-out lob, Felix nets, and at 3-2, it\u2019s Demon with the mini-break, quickly consolidated into 4-2.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Demon has, we\u2019re told, hit 87 first serves and 53 second, quite a total when you consider we\u2019re still in set two. But as we said at the top, Felix is not much of a returner, a hold to 15 securing a second-set breaker; it goes without saying that he has to win this, but as we know, things that go without saying are still generally said. Is that phrase a contradiction in terms? An oxymoron? Or maybe tautology?<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.47 EDT<\/p>\n Aaaarrrrgggghhh! Consecutive errors from Felix turn 30-15 into 30-40, and these are big points coming up. If De Minaur breaks here, it\u2019ll be hard to see him losing, but a return into the net \u2013 when delivered a weak second serve \u2013 takes us to deuce. That was a proper chance, and from there, two big serves, the second an ace, restore Auger-Aliassime\u2019s second-set advantage at 4-6 6-5.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Another missed first serve, another missed return; Felix can\u2019t say he\u2019s not had chances, and a forehand sent unnecessarily into the net means it\u2019s soon 30-0 \u2026 then 40-0. But at 40-15, De Minaur nets a backhand, missed another first serve, and as the rally progresses, Auger-Aliassime strokes a backhand winner down the line to make deuce. He\u2019s two points away from the set, but two unforced errors \u2013 two more unforced errors \u2013 donate the hold, and Demon leads 6-4 5-5.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Felix rushes to 40-15 but a double offers Demon a sniff; a body-serve, though, is returned into the net and at 6-4 4-5, the Aussie will shortly serve to stay in an engaging bju low-quality set two.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n De Minaur has dropped, two unforced errors handing over 30-all. But he knows enough to finagle a hold, now leading 6-4 4-4, and the standard here is less than stellar.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Felix broke back in double-quick time and holds in similar fashion; just as he looked to be fading, he\u2019s found a way back in, attacking but with more control, and this next De Minaur service-game is a biggun.<\/p>\n Felix Auger Aliassime fires off a forehand as he attempts to get back into game. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.34 EDT<\/p>\n Maybe this\u2019ll get him going: Auger-Aliassime sends a flat forehand spinning cross-court for a sensational winner and 15-all and is he finally going after the multitude of second serves he\u2019s facing? You bet he is, a weak second serve given the treatment at 15-40, allowing another forehand winner to secure the break-back. De Minaur leads 6-4 3-3, but might we be watching momentum switch?<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Felix is caught between two stools: he\u2019s not hitting consistently enough to unleash, but if he\u2019s tentative, as he was at the end of that last game, he\u2019ll lose. It won\u2019t be surprising if, in the disappointment of putting in all that effort to not break, he\u2019s broken himself and, as I type, a leaping volley from close to the net arranges Demon 15-40. He can\u2019t take the first opportunity, but snaffles the second, and at 6-4 3-2, he leads by a set and a break. This match is disappearing, fast.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n This is a massive game for Felix, who\u2019s burned two break point in it, and when De Minaur wrongfoots him with a backhand, coaxed down the line, it\u2019s over. The Aussie leads 6-4 2-2.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Now then. Felix unloads on a forehand and it earns him 0-30 \u2026 at which point a powercut intervenes, my picture returning to see Demon still serving but up advantage. Comms lets me know he\u2019s still trying to hit service-winners and Auger-Aliassime groundstroke winners, neither especially successfully, and a netted forehand takes us back to deuce, for the eighth time in the game.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Oh my goodness! Demon races in for a volley, is lobbed, and somehow responds with a lob of his own \u2026 that\u2019s also a tweener! That is absolutely ridiculous behavioiur. Felix tries to get it back in similar style but can\u2019t, and 15-all soon becomes 15-30, but from there, he finds what he needs to hold for 4-6 2-1. De Minaur, though, is now the better player.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A gorgeous drop makes 0-15 then, at 40-30, a rare unforced error from De Minaur, a backhand into the net, takes us to deuce. So Felix unleashes a terrifying forehand \u2026 only for Demon to stick in the point, switch momentum, and incite an error borne of frustration. Seconds later, the hold is secured for 6-4 1-1.<\/p>\n Alex de Minaur plays a backhand from the baseline. Photograph: Crist\u00f3bal Herrera\/EPAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.32 EDT<\/p>\n The problem Felix has is that he doesn\u2019t want to go for too much, but he also doesn\u2019t want to get bogged down in long, sapping rallies against someone more suited to them. Thing is, he has enough power to dictate without going mad with it, he just needs to pull back a little, either with power or with seeking lines \u2026 and, as I type, he finds himself a break-point down \u2026 making deuce with a big serve. A second-serve ace out wide then earns advantage \u2026 but another error restores deuce and from there he secures an important hold. Though De Minaur leads 6-4 0-1, the sense is that the game is on Auger-Aliassime\u2019s racket: if his hitting works, he wins, and if it doesn\u2019t, he doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Alex de Minaur takes the first set against Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4<\/p>\n A really poor miss from Felix, on the backhand with loads of space to hit, hands over advantage and a second set point, then an overhit forehand confirms it. Despite not landing a single first serve in the game, De Minaur leads 6-4, and Felix will be raging at his inability to profit. It does not augur-aliassime well.<\/p>\n Despite his first serve, Alex De Minaur gets his nose in front. Photograph: Mike Segar\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.39 EDT<\/p>\n Felix makes 15-0 but a big forehand to the backhand corner \u2013 exactly the kind of shot Demon is looking to play \u2013 levels the game. But he\u2019s struggling a bit on first serve now, forced to rely on his fabled retrieval skills when a booming forehand takes control of the rally, before cleverly switching momentum and forcing the error; 30-15. But another big forehand from Auger-Aliassime is good enough to win the next point and we wind up at 5-4 deuce; this is developing into an absorbing struggle.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Two aces in the game as Felix makes 40-15, but a leaping animal of a forehand gives Demon a sniff \u2026 before the hold is secured. After a sit-down, the Aussie will serve for the first set at 5-4.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n De Minaur does enough, securing a huge hold for 5-3 in the first. Felix needs to pull back on his forehand just a little, his opponent\u2019s ability to retrieve inciting him to go for a little too much.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Down 0-15, an ace down the T levels the game, then Felix comes in and somehow, Demon hooks a forehand past him \u2013 I think he leaves it \u2013 and it sails inside the line. A double, though, restores parity at 30-all, then a backhand swiped wide donates break-back point; already it looks like these two are exceptionally well matched. And though De Minaur saves advantage, he\u2019s soon facing another, a long rally develops, Felix in charge, but the second he drops a ball short it\u2019s punished back at him and so it\u2019s to deuce once more.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The first is seized back via ace, the second almost so. But a fault is called then, during a longer rally, Auger-Aliassime running around his backhand on every shot, he eventually goes long and De Minaur has the break, up 4-3 in the first set.<\/p>\n Felix Auger-Aliassime eyes the ball after playing a backhand return to Alex de Minaur. Photograph: Yuki Iwamura\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.21 EDT<\/p>\n For anyone wondering why this isn\u2019t being done in the game-by-game format, it\u2019s because we\u2019ve got two matches and potentially \u2013 hopefully \u2013 eight hours of action. So to save my sanity, we\u2019re doing it this way and, as I type, Felix pushes a forehand wide to give De Minaur 0-30 and the first glimmer of an opportunity. Which he forces home with a really good backhand down the line, raising three break points in the process\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Two more straightforward holds; Felix, who leads 3-2 is serving beautifully. But can he make an impression on De Minaur\u2019s delivery? The Demon has worked hard to put on a bit more muscle, so there\u2019s more on his balls now, but he\u2019s working with weaker raw materials than pretty much everyone in the elite, which is why he\u2019s never gone beyond the last eight of a major. As we said at the top, this is a huge opportunity for him, because Felix is an opponent he\u2019ll fancy himself to beat, whereas Zverev is in that tier of players he rarely beats.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Now an easy hold for Demon, and though it\u2019s possible one of these takes three tight sets, the sense is that we\u2019re settling in for a good few hours. Let\u2019s hope so: we\u2019ve had too many one-sided matches these last 10 days and we\u2019re due a classic. That said, I really enjoyed the beating Osaka put on Gauff, with Muchova v Kostyuk probably my most enjoyed match so far. Meantime, Felix nails an ace for 40-30, then spanks a forehand into the corner. But De Minaur hoists a moon-ball of a lob and the overhead goes into the net; at 1-1 deuce, here comes pressure \u2026 quickly alleviated with a monstrous serve and follow-up overhead. That\u2019s a really good sign, given what happened in the previous point, and when the Demon nets, he leads 2-1 in the first, on serve.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Auger-Aliassime holds to 15, looking pretty good while doing it. He\u2019s into the match and looks good and businesslike. And for extra points, he\u2019s got Daffy Duck on his shirt.<\/p>\n Photograph: Clive Brunskill\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Daffy Duck, what a legend. I can\u2019t say I don\u2019t enjoy Bugs\u2019 smarm and smartarsery, I do, but ultimately Daffy is my boy.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.54 EDT<\/p>\n And off we go. <\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n And out they come.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Both our players are engaged, soon to be married. Mazal tov, boys.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n I guess we might look at Felix and say yeah, but Zverev hasn\u2019t been the same since his Aussie Open final undressing, just as Rublev is on the way down too. And we\u2019d be right to: perspective is important. However he\u2019s taken both apart and is talking like someone who\u2019s ready; who knows his time is now.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Oh Demon! Ohhhh maaaaaate!<\/p>\n Photograph: Sky Sports<\/p>\n Someone chuck that man a lifebelt, he\u2019s drowning.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n I really like that Sky have, finally, started giving us proper analysis; Ryan Harrison is a terrific addition to the team. Currently, he\u2019s showing us Anisimova\u2019s footwork off the return, a little hop to the left opening both sides of the court. She was superb in outclassing Bia Haddad Maia last round and I really fancy her to make if difficult for Swiatek on hard, and really respect the way she\u2019s come back after Wimbledon when she might\u2019ve felt sorry for herself after folding so publicly. If she plays close to her best today, I think she wins \u2026 but Swiatek has the skill to ensure she doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n I strongly fancy Felix in our first match, on the basis that if he plays well, he\u2019ll have too much for De Minaur, who has a higher bottom level but a lower top level. It\u2019s a form thing really \u2013 Auger-Aliassime has played three great matches in a row and is in the nock of his life. He\u2019ll be made to play a lot of balls, but has the ability to explode with winners, which the Demon does not.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n Yes yes ya\u2019ll and welcome to the US Open 2025 \u2013 day 11!<\/p>\n Some years ago now, a tennis coach mate messaged me excitedly, telling me he\u2019d seen the future: a kid with power and grace who moved more beautifully than anyone he\u2019d seen before. Amazingly, so good was he at 16 that the only relevant comparators were Boris Becker and Rafael Nadal.<\/p>\n That kid was Felix Auger-Aliassime and, it\u2019s fair to say, he hasn\u2019t quite progressed as expected. Of course he had weaknesses back then, most particularly his second serve, his return and his volleying, but even when granted the gift of a Covid hiatus to get them sorted, they stayed pretty much the same as they always were.<\/p>\n Now, at 25, the sense is that he is what he is: a bloody good player who\u2019ll never be grand slam champion \u2013 whatever his natural gifts insist he\u2019s capable of. And yet, and yet, and yet. In the last two rounds, he\u2019s accounted for Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev for the loss of just one set, playing close to as well as he can, and in Alex de Minaur<\/a> finds an eminently beatable last-eight opponent, able to scurry and retrieve as well as anyone on tour, but lacking the weapons to dominate. For both men, this is a moment, a major quarter-final against the other the kind chance that may never come round again.<\/p>\n