The key to Demon’s first grand slam semi-final? Don’t get bullied on court

Alex de Minaur believes one of the keys to him finally reaching a grand slam semi-final will be a refusal to let Felix Auger-Aliassime bully him in their upcoming showdown.

Australia’s top-ranked tennis star cruised into his sixth career major quarter-final on Tuesday (AEST) – and third at the US Open – with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 demolition of erratic Swiss qualifier Leandro Riedi in a breezy 93 minutes.

De Minaur has repeatedly run into the world’s best in his previous trips to the last eight.

But he has a gilt-edged chance to change that in a career-defining match on Thursday against Canada’s world No.27 Auger-Aliassime, who dispatched Russian 15th seed Andrey Rublev, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

The last Australian man to reach the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows was dual grand slam champion Lleyton Hewitt in 2005, while Nick Kyrgios was the most recent to do it at any of the sport’s big four events at Wimbledon three years ago.

“Felix is the type of player who everyone knows that his top level is incredibly high, and when he’s playing with confidence, he’s very tough to beat,” de Minaur said.

“This week, he’s obviously playing some incredible tennis, and he’s got a lot of weapons. He’s got a great serve, he’s got a great forehand, and he looks to dictate whenever he can.

“For me, it’s all about trying to disrupt his rhythm, and not give him the chance to bully me on the court – and I’ll do my best to counter and dictate whenever I can ... it’s about weathering the storm.

“These are the matches I want to be playing. It’s about going for it, and going for the opportunity – and I’m very excited.”

De Minaur’s clash with Riedi was a dream match-up this late in the tournament, and the contest played out that way, even with the world No.8 playing some uncharacteristically sloppy tennis at times.

Riedi, who has qualified at his past two majors but is ranked No.435 because of separate right knee surgeries, played a hyper-aggressive, hit-or-miss style that never looked sustainable. He lacked the patience to trouble de Minaur.

Riedi escaped a 0-40 hole in the opening game – a perilous situation he found himself in five times – but that was one of his only four service holds.

A ninth double fault ended his career-best run, and he finished with 39 unforced errors to 20 winners, whereas de Minaur had 21 of each. That error count was still a tad high for de Minaur, but forgivable in the circumstances, although it contributed to him conceding serve twice.

This is de Minaur’s fifth quarter-final from his past seven majors, a feat only grand slam champions Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have matched or bettered in that span.

Alexander Zverev’s four-set defeat to Auger-Aliassime in the third round meant de Minaur instantly became the highest-ranked player in his quarter of the draw, which has happened just once previously.

De Minaur made it to this stage in New York last year off almost no preparation, after suffering a fibrocartilage tear at the attachment point of the adductor muscles to the pubic bone late in his fourth-round win over Arthur Fils at Wimbledon.

That setback cost him a match-up with Djokovic in the quarter-finals two days later, but the US Open was also his only singles appearance in a three-month period.

Even when de Minaur returned, in a successful bid to qualify for the tour finals in Turin, he was not his usual self.

For context, de Minaur’s five previous quarter-final foes at majors were: world No.3 Dominic Thiem (2020 US Open), world No.4 Zverev (2024 Roland-Garros), world No.2 Djokovic (2024 Wimbledon), world No.25 Jack Draper (2024 US Open), and world No.1 Sinner (2025 Australian Open).

Draper’s ranking stands out, but de Minaur’s injury left him physically compromised that day. The big-hitting Brit also became a top-five player this year.

There are no excuses this time for “Demon”, but he gained plenty from that difficult period, including reverting to his childhood mindset of finding different ways to beat “bigger, taller, stronger” opponents.

“I’ve always thought, and I’ve always been told, [that] the reason why I am where I am is because of my movement and speed,” de Minaur said.

“But when that was taken away from me, there was a lot of serious doubt of, ‘How am I going to win tennis matches?’ ... I was able to realise that my whole career, I was the small guy. I was the guy who wasn’t strong, who had to find different ways to win tennis matches, and really had to get the most out of myself tactically.

“All of a sudden, I’m out here, I’m having incredible results, and I’m still able to be competitive against the best players in the world – it gave me a lot of confidence.”

Auger-Aliassime is a former world No.6 who made the 2021 US Open semi-finals, as well as the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the Australian Open either side of that, but has largely disappointed since.

He leads de Minaur 2-1 head-to-head, although the Australian won their only clash post-2022 in three sets at last year’s Rome Masters on clay.

Being back to this stage at grand slam level is a triumph for Auger-Aliassime, who battled injuries and a crisis of confidence since he was last in a quarter-final. He hammered 42 winners to Rublev’s 22 in a dominant display.

“It feels even better than the first time,” Auger-Aliassime said.

“The first time, in ’21, I was on my way up. I’ve had a few setbacks, injuries, and struggled with confidence … [this] feels much better. It feels more deserved, and I’m soaking in every moment.”

De Minaur’s disappointment at having Djokovic on the ropes and letting him escape in their fourth-round clash at Wimbledon this year was evidence that he wants and expects more of himself.

Progressing to a maiden major semi-final would be another fillip for a player whose incremental improvements have edged him closer to the top.

De Minaur also always thrived on proving wrong the critics who constantly doubt his ability to perform on the sport’s biggest stage. On every measure, his time is now.

Watch every match of the US Open live and on demand on Stan Sport, with select coverage also available on Channel 9 and 9Now.

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.