Alex de Minaur is enjoying another strong week at the Rotterdam Open, just as he did in 2024.
Few ATP Tour stars are more consistent than the Aussie 25-year-old, who has gone from strength to strength in recent years.
De Minaur reached the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time in his career last month, as he lost to world number one Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
Following a tough defeat in Melbourne, De Minaur returned to the court for this week’s Rotterdam Open.
De Minaur beat Jakub Mensik to reach the quarter-finals for the fourth year running in Rotterdam, before advancing past Germany’s Daniel Altmaier to qualify for the last four.
The Aussie reached the final in the Netherlands last year, as De Minaur lost to Sinner, 5-7, 4-6.
De Minaur will want to go all the way this time around but may have to work through his biggest weakness, which he has recently spoken about.
Alex de Minaur says his serving statistics are ’embarrassing’ as he admits he needs to work on it
In a video for the ATP Tour ahead of the Rotterdam Open, De Minaur and Frenchman Arthur Fils were asked to guess players according to their 2024 statistics.
Big server Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard was one of the names picked, as De Minaur made a bold claim about the 21-year-old after seeing his statistics.
| Attribute | Rating | ATP Tour rank |
| Serve quality | 9.52 | 1st |
| Return quality | 5.13 | 94th |
| Forehand quality | 6.49 | 93rd |
| Backhand quality | 6.17 | 93rd |
“It just shows you just need a serve,” he said.
“I mean he’s already got two titles.”
Mpetshi Perricard’s fellow Frenchman agreed as he admitted he would love to take the shot from his occasional doubles partner.
“I wish I had his serve,” he said.
De Minaur then saw his own statistics, and was shocked to see how low he ranked in one particular attribute.
| Attribute | Rating | ATP Tour rank |
| Serve quality | 7.48 | 74th |
| Return quality | 7.17 | 6th |
| Forehand quality | 7.69 | 27th |
| Backhand quality | 7.50 | 14th |
“74th [Serve quality] on tour, that is embarrassing,” he said.
“Yeah, I really didn’t have a problem with my serve until I’ve just been told that, I’ve got to work on that.
“I need to work on my serve, moral of the story.”
The Aussie did, however, put a positive spin on things, despite being disappointed with his serving statistics.
“I think I’m overachieving, with my stats,” he said.
Alex de Minaur prepares for Rotterdam Open semi-final clash with Mattia Bellucci
De Minaur will hope that his serve is up to scratch when he takes on Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci in the semi-finals of the Rotterdam Open.
The Italian has pulled off two massive shocks this week, as Bellucci beat Daniil Medvedev in the second round before knocking out Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last eight.
When Bellucci takes on De Minaur, he will be doing so in his first-ever ATP semi-final, having enjoyed his previous best result at the 2024 Atlanta Open, where he lost in the quarters.
De Minaur will be confident of coming away with the win, however, having won 29 of his last 30 matches against players ranked outside the world’s top 30.
Bellucci, currently ranked 92nd in the world, will be searching for a second career top-ten win, having secured his first against Medvedev earlier in the week.
The pair are yet to face off on tour, although Bellucci may take some inspiration from his compatriot Sinner, who has beaten De Minaur in each of their ten career meetings.
De Minaur will take on Bellucci for a place in the Rotterdam Open final on Saturday, February 8.
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