Alex de Minaur matches record set by Roger Federer after beating Jakub Mensik in Rotterdam

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Alex de Minaur continues to impress, having enjoyed a career-best year in 2024.

The Australian number one has become one of the best players on the ATP Tour over recent years and is currently ranked 8th in the world.

De Minaur lost to Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, reaching the last eight of his home tournament for the first time.

Now one of the most consistent players in the men’s game, De Minaur has qualified for the quarters at his last four Grand Slam tournaments.

That consistency hasn’t just been confined to the Majors however, as the Aussie continues to make deep runs at ATP tournaments.

Alex de Minaur matches Roger Federer’s record of four-straight Rotterdam Open quarter-finals

With his 6-4, 6-4, second-round win over Jakub Mensik, De Minaur qualified for the quarter-finals in Rotterdam for the fourth year running.

Only three-time champion Roger Federer can match the feat, having done so between 2001-2005.

De Minaur knocked out Belgium’s David Goffin in the first round on Monday, as he continued his excellent form in the Netherlands.

Over the last four years, De Minaur boasts an impressive 10-3 record in Rotterdam, which includes two wins over top-ten star Andrey Rublev.

His best performance at the event came in 2024, as De Minaur lost to Sinner in the final, having beaten Grigor Dimitrov, Rublev, Goffin, and Sebastian Korda on his way to the showpiece match.

Scoring big wins over the likes of Rublev and Dimitrov has certainly helped the Aussie, although it’s his consistency against the lower-ranked players on tour, that sees him reach the latter stages of events on such a regular basis.

De Minaur’s win over Mensik was his 10th straight against players ranked outside of the top 20, a remarkable record that he will no doubt hope to add to soon.

He’ll have the chance to do so in his quarter-final match, as the 25-year-old takes on 93rd-ranked Lucky Loser, Daniel Altmaier.

Roger Federer’s impressive Rotterdam Open record

De Minaur’s win over Mensik saw him become the first player to reach four consecutive quarter-finals in the Netherlands since Federer did so between 2001-2005.

The Swiss star won and dominated plenty of tournaments over the years, but just how good was he in Rotterdam?

• 2001 – Runner-up
• 2002 – Quarter-finalist
• 2003 – Semi-finalist
• 2004 – Quarter-finalist
• 2005 – Champion

Having reached at least the quarter-final stage for four years running, Federer was determined to finally get over the line and bring home the title when he took on Ivan Ljubicic in the 2005 final.

In a three-set thriller, Federer beat the man who went on to become his coach, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6, to lift the title at the Rotterdam Ahoy Arena.

After five years of consistency in the Netherlands, Federer chose not to defend his title in 2006, next returning to the event in 2012, where he took down Juan Martin del Potro, to win the tournament for a second time.

He then lost in the 2013 quarter-finals, before returning one final time in 2018, looking to add a third title to his collection.

Dropping just one set all tournament, Federer did just that, returning to world number one in the process following his quarter-final win over Robin Haase.

13 years after he lifted the title for the first time with a win over Ljubicic, he won again in Rotterdam, taking down Dimitrov in the final.

Only time will tell if De Minaur can match Federer’s legacy in the Netherlands, but he’ll certainly hope to keep on the right track when he takes on Altmaier in the quarter-finals, on Friday, February 7.