{"id":318536,"date":"2025-08-05T01:09:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T01:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/318536\/"},"modified":"2025-08-05T01:09:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T01:09:11","slug":"alex-de-minaur-equals-an-australian-tennis-legend-in-key-area-after-defeating-frances-tiafoe-at-the-canadian-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/318536\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex de Minaur equals an Australian tennis legend in key area after defeating Frances Tiafoe at the Canadian Open"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alex de Minaur is in red-hot form after beating Frances Tiafoe to reach the Canadian Open quarter-finals.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Australian, nicknamed the \u2018Demon,\u2019 has won eight straight matches since losing to Novak Djokovic<\/a> in the Wimbledon<\/a> quarter-finals.<\/p>\n

Since that match, he has gone on to lift the Washington Open title<\/a>; saving three championship points in the final against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, before going on to claim victory.<\/p>\n

His form has continued to strengthen in Canada, and a 6-2 4-6 6-4 victory over Tiafoe<\/a> in the round of 16 will have done his confidence no harm.<\/p>\n

De Minaur\u2019s<\/a> victory also catapulted him into new Australian tennis territory.<\/p>\n

\"AlexPhoto by Mert Alper Dervis\/Anadolu via Getty ImagesAlex de Minaur equals Pat Rafter<\/p>\n

De Minaur, who produced a fantastic display of agile court coverage<\/a> during his victory over Tiafoe, created history for his country.<\/p>\n

As per tennis blogger Mario Boccardi, Alex de Minaur is now level with Patrick Rafter as the second Australian man with the most tour-level hard-court wins in the Open Era.<\/p>\n

After de Minaur\u2019s victory on Sunday evening, he equalled Rafter\u2019s total of 212 hard-court wins on the ATP Tour.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00b7 \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa Lleyton Hewitt (372)
\u00b7 \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa Patrick Rafter (212)
\u00b7 \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa Alex de Minaur (212)<\/p>\n

Alex de Minaur has tied Patrick Rafter as the 2nd Australian man with most tour-level hard court wins in the Open Era pic.twitter.com\/Qt7j2qJG2f<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mario Boccardi (@boccardi_marioo) August 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

View Tweet<\/p>\n

De Minaur now only sits behind two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt, who won 372 hard-court contests during his career.<\/p>\n

The Australian will hope to overtake Rafter\u2019s total in the Canadian Open<\/a> quarter-final, when he faces big-serving American Ben Shelton<\/a>. The occasion will mark their first contest on the ATP Tour.<\/p>\n

An enticing semi-final contest awaits either de Minaur or Shelton. They could face second seed Taylor Fritz or 2024 Canadian Open finalist Andrey Rublev.<\/p>\n

De Minaur triumphant despite poor first serve percentage<\/p>\n

Alex de Minaur may consider himself slightly fortunate to have defeated Tiafoe after struggling on serve throughout the contest.<\/p>\n

De Minaur hit five double faults while only making 43 per cent of his first serves. The \u2018Demon\u2019 was also broken five times during the match: one more than Tiafoe.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

However, the Australian neutralised this alarming statistic by winning 75 per cent of his first serve points. He was also assisted by a poor serving day for Tiafoe, who only made 50 per cent of his first serves.<\/p>\n

The Australian will have to serve much better against Ben Shelton. The American is a player who rarely struggles on serve due to his powerful flat, slice and kick-serve techniques.<\/p>\n