Alex de Minaur booked his place in the Rotterdam Open quarterfinals after beating Stan Wawrinka in straight sets.
De Minaur, seeded first at the ATP 500 tournament, emerged victorious 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday over the Swiss, who continues to impress on his farewell tour.
Wawrinka will retire at the end of the 2026 season, but the three-time major champion is still competitive at 40 years of age and will return to the world’s top 100 on Monday.
Why do you think Stan Wawrinka was never considered to be on the same level as Andy Murray?
His conqueror, De Minaur, is looking for an 11th career title in Rotterdam following a quarterfinal exit at the Australian Open.
With his triumph over Wawrinka, the Australian has just matched one of Roger Federer‘s all-time records.
Alex de Minaur matches Roger Federer in Rotterdam
De Minaur has suffered two near-misses at the Rotterdam Open in his last two campaigns at the event.
Last year, he finished as the runner-up with a defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the final, which came the season after his 2024 second-place finish to Jannik Sinner.
He has now made the quarterfinals of the Rotterdam Open for the fifth year in a row, matching the record held by Federer.
Will Alex de Minaur ever reach a Grand Slam semifinal?
What is Alex de Minaur’s ceiling?
The 20-time major champion made nine appearances at the competition during his legendary career, and never failed to make it to the quarterfinals.
His record streak of five consecutive years reaching the last eight came between 2001 and 2005.
Federer won the Rotterdam Open three times, triumphing in 2005, 2012, and 2018.
Alex de Minaur’s next opponent at the Rotterdam Open
De Minaur’s quarterfinal opponent at the Rotterdam Open comes in the form of home hope Botic van de Zandschulp.
He has played the Dutchman three times before at tour-level events and came out on top on each occasion.
The world number eight defeated Van de Zandschulp at the 2022 Davis Cup, the 2025 Australian Open and the 2025 Qatar Open.
The two will now meet for a second time on an indoor hard-court, with a place in the semifinals at the Rotterdam Open up for grabs.
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