Alex de Minaur’s hopes of winning the Australian Open title were laid to rest for another year after he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.
De Minaur was aiming to become the first Australian Open Men’s Singles champion since Mark Edmondson in 1973.
However, he was comfortably defeated by Alcaraz on Tuesday, ending all hopes of the drought being broken.
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After a close first set, Alcaraz took full control of the match, eventually winning the contest 7-6, 6-2, 6-1.
For the ‘Demon’, the loss represented yet another missed opportunity; the Australian star, while a superb player, cannot seem to overcome one particular Grand Slam hurdle.
Alex de Minaur continues his poor quarter-final record at Grand Slams
Alex de Minaur is one of the most successful active players on the ATP Tour, having won 10 ATP Tour titles.
However, for all his success, he remains unable to navigate his way past the quarter-final stage at Grand Slam events.
De Minaur, the world number six, has reached seven Grand Slam quarter-finals without advancing to the semi-finals.
The Australian made his first quarter-final appearance at the 2020 US Open, losing to eventual champion Dominic Thiem.
In 2024, de Minaur reached three quarter-finals: at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. He lost to Alexander Zverev in Paris, withdrew from his match against Novak Djokovic in London, and fell to Jack Draper in New York.
In 2025, de Minaur made two more quarter-final appearances at the Australian Open and US Open, losing to Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime respectively.
As for Carlos Alcaraz, he has now reached the semi-final stage at all four Grand Slams. He faces Alexander Zverev in the last four.
Carlos Alcaraz defends Alex de Minaur from time violation
At 5-6 in the first set, the umpire penalised Alex de Minaur for taking too much time at the start of the game.
As broadcast by TNT Sports, Carlos Alcaraz quickly stepped forward to defend the Australian player, and could be heard saying, “I wasn’t ready.”
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Alcaraz’s actions represented yet another example of his excellent sportsmanship; an element of his personality that has been a consistent positive feature throughout the Spaniard’s career.
The 23-year-old’s sportsmanship was recognised in 2025, when he won the ATP’s Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award.
