Alex de Minaur delivered a more convincing performance on Thursday to dispatch French veteran Adrian Mannarino 6-3 6-2 6-2 in one hour 49 minutes on Court 3, booking his place in the Wimbledon third round. The Australian No.1, seeded 15th, overcame a patchy serving display to dismantle the left-handed 38-year-old under sunny skies and rising temperatures on day four.
Dominant Start, Slight Stumbles
De Minaur raced through the first two sets in 38 minutes each, breaking Mannarino twice in the opener and three times in the second. However, his own serve was occasionally vulnerable, as he was broken once in each of those sets, with his second delivery proving particularly fragile. The 24-year-old Australian committed several unforced errors but compensated with aggressive returning, winning 44% of points on Mannarino’s second serve.
Third Set Resilience
The third set saw de Minaur tighten up, holding serve without a break point conceded. He survived a tense service game at 2-2 that featured five deuces before holding and then breaking a visibly deflated Mannarino to love. From there, the match was effectively over, as the Frenchman, a former top-20 player now ranked 94th, could not recover from a two-set and break deficit.
“I definitely think I started better, I had more intent, more conviction in what I needed to do,” de Minaur said after the match. “I’m super stoked and super grateful to be playing some good tennis with some great weather here in London. I just love it here and I’m hoping I can stay here for a long time.”
Aussie Support and Next Opponent
De Minaur received strong support from the Australian contingent on Court 3, with compatriots Maya Joint and James Duckworth following him onto the same arena. The win marked a clear improvement from his nervy first-round victory over Roman Andres Burruchaga, where he dropped the opening set before rallying.
In the third round, de Minaur will face either Kamil Majchrzak of Poland or American Zach Svajda. Majchrzak holds a recent win over de Minaur, having beaten him in the final at ‘s-Hertogenbosch earlier this month for his first victory in three meetings. Svajda, ranked 105th, has never faced the Australian. De Minaur will be aiming to reach the second week at Wimbledon for the second consecutive year.
