Alex de Minaur‘s love affair with the Netherlands has continued after the Aussie tennis star downed three-time grand slam champ Stan Wawrinka to reach his fifth successive quarter-final at the Rotterdam Open. While women’s World No.2 Iga Swiatek let an extraordinary record slip after squandering a one-set lead against Maria Sakkari to crash out in the Qatar Open quarter-finals.
De Minaur equalled Roger Federer’s record in Rotterdam after a comprehensive straight-sets win over Wawrinka booked his fifth-straight trip to the last-eight in Rotterdam. The top seed was ruthless against the Swiss great as he romped away to a 6-4 6-2 victory.
Iga Swiatek’s 109-match record was ended at the Qatar Open while Alex de Minaur beat three-time grand finalist Stan Wawrinka to reach the Rotterdam quarter-finals. Pic: Getty
World No.8 de Minaur has made the last two Rotterdam finals and remains firmly on course to make it three in a row. But the Aussie is yet to lift the trophy and will need to get past local hope Botic van de Zandschulp when they face off in the last-eight.
De Minaur’s groundstrokes were on song against Wawrinka and he gave the three-time champ few opportunities to get into the contest, pouncing on any errors from the 40-year-old. The only moment of concern for the Aussie was when he dropped serve to love after breaking for a 4-3 first set lead.
But de Minaur quickly regrouped to break straight back, before serving out for the first set. The second stanza was smooth sailing for the Aussie, who put the exclamation mark on an impressive win with a sizzling backhand winner down the line to march on in Rotterdam.
The Aussie’s quarter-final opponent van de Zandschulp beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in an absorbing match. And he’ll have the home fans firmly in his corner for the clash with de Minaur.
Aussie qualifier Chris O’Connell also advanced to the last-eight after beating British world No.26 Cameron Norrie. He’ll face Ugo Humbert in the quarters after the Frenchman downed Dutch wildcard Guy Den Ouden 6-4 6-3.
Iga Swiatek’s 109-match record ended by Maria Sakkari
Meanwhile, Swiatek saw a staggering record ended after suffering a shock 2-6 6-4 7-5 loss to World No.52 Sakkari at the Qatar Open. Swiatek had never lost a match at WTA 1000 level after winning the first set and her extraordinary 109-0 record looked set to continue after the top seed dominated the opening stanza.
Iga Swiatek (L) lost for the first time in 110 matches at WTA 1000 level after winning the opening set as Maria Sakkari (R) stormed home to win in three at the Qatar Open. Pic: Getty
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Swiatek also had a four-match winning streak against Sakkari going into the clash but the Greek former World No.3 turned the tables in the second set, before riding a wave of momentum to edge a tense deciding set. It’s the second victory for Sakkari over a top-10 opponent this week after she also ousted Jasmine Paolini in the second round to make her first WTA 1000 semi-final since 2024.
“You’re always the underdog with playing against the No. 2 in the world, especially where I’m coming from,” Sakkari said. “But I kept telling myself, even after the first set, that I was playing good tennis, and that I had to stick to my game plan and the way I was playing. I was aggressive, I was brave, and it worked out really well.”
with agencies