Alex de Minaur and Jordan Thompson will meet in an all-Australian fourth-round showdown at Flushing Meadows.
New York, USA, 2 September 2024 | Leigh Rogers
For the first time in 31 years, two Australians are set to go head-to-head in a US Open men’s singles fourth-round match.
“Look, it’s a good problem to have, the fact that we’re playing each other in the fourth round,” Alex de Minaur said ahead of his clash with compatriot Jordan Thompson.
“It’s exciting. I’ve grown up with him, we’ve played plenty of times and I’m expecting an absolute battle.”
De Minaur has surprised himself with his progression to the second week at this year’s US Open, having entered the tournament under an injury cloud. He had not played a singles match since Wimbledon, when a hip injury forced him to withdraw ahead of the quarterfinals.
“[I’m] very happy obviously,” De Minaur said of his performance so far at Flushing Meadows.
“I knew I was severely underdone coming in and didn’t know how the body was going to pull up. [But] it definitely feels good. I’m trending upwards and it’s exactly the way I want to be trending.”
With the confidence in his body growing, De Minaur is looking to advance to his third consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. But the 25-year-old knows he can’t underestimate the challenge presented by his Davis Cup team-mate.
“I think Thommo deserves a lot of respect as a player,” De Minaur noted. “Not only for being in the fourth round, which he has earned by beating quality opponents, but also just the way he’s been going about the last couple of years. He’s been playing positive, aggressive tennis against the best players in the world and taking a lot of big scalps.”
De Minaur enters this match with a 4-1 win-loss record against the 30-year-old Thompson. However, this will be their first meeting in more than two years ago.
| Alex de Minaur v Jordan Thompson Head-to-head record |
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| Year | Result | Event | Round | Surface |
| 2019 | De Minaur won 6-4 6-2 | Brisbane | 2R | Hard |
| 2019 | De Minaur won 7-6(4) 6-3 | Sydney | QF | Hard |
| 2019 | Thompson won 4-6 6-2 6-3 | s-Hertogenbosch | QF | Grass |
| 2021 | De Minaur won 6-7(8) 6-3 6-4 | Stuttgart | 2R | Grass |
| 2022 | De Minaur won 6-2 6-3 | Miami | 2R | Hard |
Their friendship extends back to when De Minaur was a junior and would train alongside Thompson in Sydney.
“Growing up, he was the guy I was looking up to and he’s always given me a lot of time of day,” De Minaur…
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