Andy Murray’s former coach rates Alex de Minaur’s chances of reaching the Wimbledon final this year

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Alex de Minaur has reached the third round of Wimbledon without dropping a set.

The Aussie made light work of Roman Andres Burruchaga and Adrian Mannarino to secure his place in round three.

De Minaur has never been past the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, but in a relatively open draw, might fancy his chances of making a deep run at Wimbledon.

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Andy Murray’s former coach, Mark Petchey, certainly thinks De Minaur is worth keeping an eye on.

Mark Petchey believes Alex de Minaur has a ‘legit chance’ of reaching this year’s Wimbledon final

During a video posted on Stan Sports’ Instagram account, Petchey delivered his verdict on De Minaur’s Wimbledon chances.

“I think [Adrian] Mannarino is one of those kinds of barometers. He’s like the litmus test; if you are hitting the ball well, you get past him, if you’re not hitting the ball well, you’re probably bundled out of the draw. Today was a really good day,” said Petchey.

“He’s kind of in a weird space in the year, isn’t he, Alex?

“He’s actually on the ‘Live Rankings’, up to a career-high number five, and yet you’re kind of looking at his tennis at times, wondering where it’s at, and it’s been a little patchy.

Live ATP Rankings

“But he has an unbelievable opportunity in this half of the draw, to really kind of put his foot down and start motoring through it, and give himself a chance.

“I mean, he has a legit chance of making the final in this bottom half. Really, with the quality and calibre of his tennis on this surface.”

By seeding, De Minaur is the second-best player remaining in the bottom half of the Wimbledon draw.

Seeds remaining in the bottom half of the Wimbledon draw

• [2] Alexander Zverev
• [5] Alex de Minaur
• [6] Taylor Fritz
• [9] Flavio Cobolli
• [10] Alexander Bublik
• [13] Jiri Lehecka
• [17] Frances Tiafoe
• [19] Karen Khachanov

And there’s a fair argument to be made that De Minaur is more dangerous on grass than the second seed, Alexander Zverev.

The good news for De Minaur is that he won’t play a seed in the third round, as he prepares to take on the world number 66, Zachary Svajda.

If he wins that match, he will advance to take on either Flavio Cobolli or Karen Khachanov in the last 16.

Cobolli and Khachanov are no pushovers on grass, but De Minaur would walk on court feeling confident of his chances, and wouldn’t play a seeded opponent should he reach the quarter-finals.

Looking to win a Grand Slam quarter-final match for the first time in his career, De Minaur would play either Matteo Berrettini, Grigor Dimitrov, Zizou Bergs, or Arthur Fery.

Then, in the semis, De Minaur would likely meet Zverev or the grass-court specialist, Taylor Fritz.

He may not be the favourite to reach the final, but as Petchey said, he does stand a ‘legit chance’ of doing just that.

Would Alex de Minaur have any chance of winning the Wimbledon final?

De Minaur won’t want to get ahead of himself thinking about the final just yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t discuss it.

If the Aussie were to qualify for his maiden Grand Slam final, he would likely meet Novak Djokovic or Jannik Sinner in the Championship match.

Unfortunately for De Minaur, his head-to-head record against both players leaves a lot to be desired.

Alex de Minaur and Novak Djokovic’s head-to-head record (1-3)

Alex de Minaur and Jannik Sinner’s head-to-head record (0-13)

De Minaur has only recorded one win over the pair, losing 16 of his 17 meetings against the two Wimbledon favourites.

So perhaps the Aussie will be better off taking Wimbledon one match at a time!

De Minaur will return to take on Svajda in the third round on Saturday, July 4.