De Minaur powers into a third straight Wimbledon last 16 as Svajda’s fight falls short

Australian fifth seed Alex de Minaur reached the fourth round of Wimbledon for a third consecutive year on Saturday, coming through a spirited challenge from American Zachary Svajda 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 to keep a run that has cost him only one set alive.

De Minaur was in control from the outset, taking the opening set with ease, but Svajda, the world No 66, lifted his game to level the match, taking the second 7-5 as he pushed the Australian back. De Minaur regrouped from there, reasserting himself in the third and holding firm in the fourth to move into the last 16, the 15th time in his career he has reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam and his third straight at the All England Club.

“The contrast from the first to the second was pretty big, he started being a lot more aggressive,” de Minaur said after the match. “The way he stepped it up made me probably take a step back.”

He credited his opponent for the difficulty of the afternoon while taking satisfaction from his own response. “I thought it was a high-quality match, and a lot of credit to Zach. He made my life very, very difficult. I was happy I was able to stay strong mentally and keep that level through the third and fourth sets.”

I get a little bit frustrated if the opponent plays a good set. But they need to do that for three sets in a row.

De Minaur pointed to the demands of the format as the lesson of the day. “I need to remind myself more frequently that best-of-five is a completely different beast,” he said. “I get a little bit frustrated if the opponent plays a good set. But they need to do that for three sets in a row.”

He arrives in the second week moving as well as he has all fortnight, and made no secret of his ambitions. “The body is feeling great — today was probably the best I’ve moved around the court. This is when I’m my most dangerous, and I’m hoping I can put two and two together.”

De Minaur had reached the third round with wins over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino (6-3, 6-2, 6-2) and Argentinian Roman Andres Burruchaga (7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-0), while Svajda had come through against Pole Kamil Majchrzak (2-6, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3) and Spaniard Pablo Llamas Ruiz (6-1, 6-2, 6-4) before running into an opponent with too much all-round quality.

De Minaur will next face Italian ninth seed Flavio Cobolli, who came through the section against Russian 19th seed Karen Khachanov, for a place in the quarter-finals.