Australia's Alex De Minaur in action during his fourth round match against France's Arthur Fils.
Credit: Reuters Photo
London: Australia's Alex De Minaur reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time as he beat rising Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-2 6-4 4-6 6-3 on Monday.
The ninth seed looked in control for two sets against the 20-year-old but Fils, bidding to become the youngest Frenchman in the professional era to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final, responded superbly to extend the Court One contest.
De Minaur, watched by his girlfriend Katie Boulter, the British number one, moved clear in the fourth set though to nip the Fils comeback in the bud.
Worryingly for the 25-year-old, who will play seven-time champion Novak Djokovic or Denmark's Holger Rune in the quarter-finals, he appeared to be in some discomfort at the end.
"I'll be alright," De Minaur said on court when asked if he had sustained an injury. "I made it harder than I should have and happy to get over the finish line."
De Minaur has previously reached two Grand Slam quarter-finals, losing to Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open and Alexander Zverev at the French Open this year.