Despite his unwavering grit and relentless energy, Alex De Minaur still cannot crack the code when it comes to grand slam quarter-finals.

Always one of the hardest workers on the court, De Minaur seems to fall short when he's on the cusp of reaching the final four at a major tournament, most recently, going down 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) to Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-final of the US Open.

Over the course of his career, De Minaur has reached a total of six grand slam quarter-finals, however, he has lost every time.

  • 2020 US Open, vs Dominic Thiem (6-1, 6-2, 6-4)
  • 2024 French Open, vs Alexander Zverev (6-4, 7-6, 6-4)
  • 2024 Wimbledon, vs Novak Djokovic (walkover)
  • 2024 US Open, vs Jack Draper (6-3, 7-5, 6-2)
  • 2025 Australian Open, vs Jannik Sinner (6-3, 6-2, 6-1)
  • 2025 US Open, vs Felix Auger-Aliassime (4-6, 7-6, 7-5, 7-6)

Apart from his most recent loss, De Minaur has seemingly been dominated in the rest of his matches, failing to take a single set in any of his previous outings.

After exiting the 2025 US Open, the 'Demon' acknowledged that the consistent shortcomings are taking a toll mentally.

"It is very tough, when you work so hard for something and you constantly are putting yourself in positions to prove people wrong, but yet again, you fall," De Minaur told reporters.

“I don't know how I'll handle it. I'm definitely seeing red."

Ranked number eight in the world, the loss will only strengthen the sentiment among many fans that, due to his smaller stature and weak service game, De Minaur will end his career without a grand slam title.

Alex de Minaur
Alex de Minaur

Against Jack Draper, in the 2024 US Open quarter-final, De Minaur only won 67 and 36 per cent of his first and second serves, respectively.

In comparison, Draper was winning 84 per cent of his first serves and 49 per cent of his second.

It was a similar story in De Minaur's defeat to Jannik Sinner at the 2025 Australian Open, with De Minaur winning 65 per cent of his first serves and Sinner winning 84 per cent.

However, the difference lay in De Minaur's poor second serve, only winning 39 per cent compared to Sinner, who was winning 81 per cent.

The Australian even addressed his poor service game following the loss to Auger-Aliassime.

"My serve's been letting me down in big matches," De Minaur explained to reporters.

"In those big matches, (serves) is the first thing that goes away."

"It comes down to that serve … percentage has got to be a lot higher. I played way too many points out there with my second serve."

Despite another final-eight exit, De Minaur's attention will turn to ending the year strong, before hoping to overcome his grand slam hoodoo at the 2026 Australian Open in front of his home crowd.