See the worrying reason Alex de Minaur had a VERY strange reaction to making the Wimbledon quarter-finals in one of the biggest wins of his career

  • Alex de Minaur has advanced to Wimbledon quarter finals 
  • He suffered an injury scare on match point 
  • De Minaur insisted 'I'll be alright' after the game 

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 - but had a very strange reaction to the win after picking up what looked to be a painful injury.

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 unable to walk freely after winning match point with a stunning volley.

Fans were also concerned when they spotted the Aussie shaking his head towards his coaching box, where his tennis star girlfriend Katie Boulter was sitting.  

'I'll be alright. I'll find a way,' he said after his foot appeared to get stuck in the grass during the final point. 

'Thank you guys. The atmosphere was unbelievable, super proud of myself to be playing here at Wimbledon in front of you guys.'

When asked what pleased him most about his performance, an exhausted de Minaur joked: 'Getting over the finish line. I definitely made it a lot harder than I probably should of.

Alex de Minaur came through his Wimbledon last-16 clash, but appeared to pick up an injury on match point - and didn't celebrate the win (pictured) despite it being one of the biggest matches of his career

Alex de Minaur came through his Wimbledon last-16 clash, but appeared to pick up an injury on match point - and didn't celebrate the win (pictured) despite it being one of the biggest matches of his career

The Aussie was seen shooting a worried glance at his coaching box after beating Arthur Fils

The Aussie was seen shooting a worried glance at his coaching box after beating Arthur Fils 

Katie Boulter (pictured, centre) was in the coaching box as her boyfriend made his first Wimbledon quarter-final

Katie Boulter (pictured, centre) was in the coaching box as her boyfriend made his first Wimbledon quarter-final

'Happy to get through. Great job mentally to stay with it, even though I couldn't serve at the end. I couldn't hold my serve, I just backed my return. But very happy with that and on to the next.'

He later clarified he had 'jarred' his hip playing the forehand that set up the winner and it was 'a little bit 'ginger''. 

'I'm super proud of myself to be in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon,' added the ninth-seeded Australian. 'You can count on me going out there, trying my hardest and playing my heart out.' 

On playing Djokovic or Rune in the quarter final: 'I'm just excited to be in the quarter-finals, have another battle and give myself another shot.'

The Australian No.1 looked set to continue his sprint through the Wimbledon field when he raced to a two-set lead in barely an hour, and followed up with an early break in the third.

'The Demon' later explained that he had jarred his hip as he set up the shot that won him the match - putting him into the quarters of a Grand Slam for the second straight time

'The Demon' later explained that he had jarred his hip as he set up the shot that won him the match - putting him into the quarters of a Grand Slam for the second straight time

But from 4-2 up the Sydneysider tightened up and lost four successive games, and the set.

Inevitably the nightmare of 2022 resurfaced. Then de Minaur blew a two-set lead against another unseeded player, Chilean Cristian Garin, and two match points in the fifth.

This time it was different.

In the fourth set de Minaur broke immediately, saved serve at 0-40 in the fourth game, then broke again to lead 4-1.

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.