Alex de Minaur faced a devastating setback at Wimbledon 2024 as he was forced to withdraw from his highly anticipated quarter-final match against Novak Djokovic on Wednesday due to a hip injury. ESPN pundit Mary Joe Fernandez has commented on the impact of the unfortunate turn of events that ended the Australian men’s No.1’s promising campaign.
She indirectly claimed on the live broadcast, that de Minaur was in pole position to defeat Djokovic had they played the match. This is because the Aussie beat the former World No.1 earlier this year at the ATP Cup, just before the Australian Open 2024.
While it could sound presumptuous to many, Mary Joe Fernandez added that the Serb is dealing with a dodgy knee, having withdrawn from the French Open quarterfinals. So he would need that rest as he is 37 and not getting any younger.
But claiming that de Minaur’s injury is a ‘big break’ for Djokovic, can be taken as another comment of hers which is not in favor of him. Interestingly, Mary Joe Fernandez is close to Roger Federer because of being his business partner, Tony Godsick’s wife.
During the early days of the Federer-Djokovic rivalry, the American tennis legend had some unsavory comments to make about the now 24-time Grand Slam champion. Fernandez slammed Djokovic for retiring from his 2009 Australian Open quarter-final match against Andy Roddick. She also revealed what Federer felt about the same in a conversation they had.
Fernandez also added Rafael Nadal’s name in the discussion and claimed that the Spaniard would have never done what Djokovic did. The video went viral last year amongst passionate Djokovic fans, most of whom do not favor Fernandez.
Even if de Minaur played, Djokovic’s fitness is unparalleled in tennis today. So he would have still been fresh for his upcoming semi-final match against Lorenzo Musetti.
Apart from the Djokovic comments, Fernandez is impressed with de Minaur’s rise and he showed a lot of improvement on grass at Wimbledon 2024.
How De Minaur Proved His Love for Grass at Wimbledon 2024
De Minaur’s injury in the Round of 16 match, proved too severe to allow him to compete at the highest level in the quarterfinals. The Australian’s performance was exceptional against Arthur Fils, which made his match against Djokovic much-awaited.
It has been a good year for the Aussie as he made it to the quarterfinals of both French Open and Wimbledon. De Minaur was not expected to make it this big at Wimbledon, but he went about his business quietly.
In an interview with Tennis Channel, De Minaur recently said that there should be more tournaments such as Masters 1000s on grass. He claimed that it is his favorite surface and has always looked to carry on the tradition of Australian players doing well on the surface over the years.
Alex de Minaur wants to see more grass court tournaments
Do you agree with him?#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/HW83ORO4Ws
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) July 6, 2024
De Minaur’s aggressive baseline play, quick footwork, and relentless spirit earned him admiration from fans and commentators alike. His journey through the tournament highlighted his growth and potential as a rising star in tennis.
Unfortunately though, it would be a race against time for de Minaur to prepare for the Olympics 2024. The hip injury at Wimbledon 2024 could make him skip the marquee sporting event for the second consecutive time since his debut as a professional tennis player because he had contracted Covid-19 back in 2021 ahead of the Tokyo Games.
