New York – There was a lot of talk about the “reset” at this year’s US Open. Koko Gouf reset using a bathroom break after a panic attack during a second round meeting with Donna Vekic, but Danil Medvedev and Stefanos Zitzpas endured a difficult Grand Slam season.
For Australia’s Alex de Minaurus, resetting means changing routines when he faces Felix Auger Aliasime on Wednesday and tries to reach the semi-finals for the first time in the majors. He shaves, changes places he might go to dinner, changes shoes, all strives to reset his mind and give him the best chance to succeed.
Martina Navratilova and Maria Sharapova said reaching the quarter final was when the Grand Slam tournament actually began. De Minaur says it’s the second week. “The second week of the slam is a completely different dynamic,” De Minauer told ESPN at Flushing Meadows. “It’s the end of the tournament business. It’s good to have a little mental reset, as you know it’s a long journey. Having those short-term goals, it’s a whole new tournament.
Of course, there are a few routines in De Minaur’s routine changes as well. “I always shave before a tournament, and then every time I enter a new week, I shave again,” said the number eight seed. “It’s a way to reset my mentally. I have these little things I tweak. I change shoes. I get some different equipment.
The Grand Slam event in the second week is a very different place than in the first week. After the first few days of hustle and bustle, everything rings in the second week when 128 matches are played in male and female events. The locker room is empty. Dynamic changes. It’s something the players have to get used to.
“It’s completely different in that sense. I feel the overall atmosphere is a little different,” De Minaur said. “There are far fewer players. There aren’t that many single players left. It’s a doubles player. Juniors start. It’s a very different place.”
One of the most difficult workers on the tour and perhaps the fastest mover on the tennis court, De Minaur has been one of the most consistent players for years, always looking for something special to make big breakthroughs, adding power to his serves and adding more pop to his forehand. The final 16-year-old fixture at the slam rebounded from an early defeat at the French Open to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon.
At this year’s US Open, he only dropped the last eight sets. He is the first Australian man to hold consecutive quarterfinals in the US since Lyton Hewitt, who won seven consecutive titles from 2000 to 2006 and won the title in 2001.
It’s been five years since De Minaur first reached the final eight in the majors, losing to ultimate champion Dominic Thiem and lost at the US Open in 2020. Alexander Zverev stopped him at the French Open last year. In Australia, in early 2025 he felt Jannik Sinner was too strong.
De Minaur’s match against Auger-Aliassime is the first time he was popular, at least on paper, to reach the semi-finals.
That said, the Canadian played outstanding tennis last week, knocking out third-seeded Zverev and following with a fierce battle victory against Andreil Brev. De Minaur is head-to-head 2-1 and knows he needs to find a way to stop Ouger-Aliasime from loosening and cutting.
“He’s clearly playing incredible tennis this week and he has a lot of weapons,” De Minaur said. “He has a great serve. He has a great forehand. He tries to direct as much as he can. In that match, it’s all about trying to disrupt his rhythm and not giving him the opportunity to bully me on the court. Error, for me, it’s about weathering the storm.
And while winning on home soil at the Australian Open is his ultimate dream, De Minauer said the US Open will do well. “At this stage, there’s a Grand Slam, right?” he said. “That’s the ultimate goal. If you only get one, you won’t get too noisy. I’m happy with either of those that have fallen on my knees.”
