Alex de Minaur could not be happier to get off clay and take his talents to the grass-court swing. De Minaur went 5-6 in his last 11 clay-court matches, but — unsurprisingly — he is off to winning start on the lawns after beating Martin Damm 7-6(8), 7-5 at the Libema Open on Wednesday.
Up next for the sixth-ranked Australian on quarterfinal Friday is a sixth showdown against Benjamin Bonzi, who trails the head-to-head series 3-2 (3-1 on the main tour). They have never met on grass and they have not faced each other since 2023, when De Minaur prevailed in straight sets at the Aussie Open before Bonzi did the same on the indoor hard courts of Marseille.
The 99th-ranked Frenchman did well to defeat Ugo Humbert 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in round two, but De Minaur presents an even tougher test.
Pick: De Minaur in 2