Washington, USA , 26 July 2025 | Vivienne Christie
Washington is proving a happy hunting ground for Alex de Minaur.
After reaching a first tour-level final in the city at age 19 seven years ago – when he defeated Andy Murray and Andrey Rublev before a runner-up finish to Alexander Zverev – De Minaur is just one match away from replicating that performance at the 2025 tournament.
With a 6-4 6-4 victory over home favourite Brandon Nakashima in the quarterfinals on Saturday, the seventh-seeded De Minaur set a semifinal against unseeded Frenchman Corentin Moutet.
Moutet, who at world No.59 is a lucky loser at the ATP 500 tournament, stunned No.7 seed Daniil Medvedev 1-6 6-4 6-4 to advance to the final four.
De Minaur’s straight-sets win over Nakashima, the No.14 seed in Washington, marked his 20th match win on a hard court in 2025 – the most for any ATP player this year.
> READ: De Minaur “at my peak and ready to break through barriers”
Recording 21 winners against 17 unforced errors, De Minaur stamped his authority with an early beak of serve against the American. While Nakashima clawed one break back, De Minaur secured the first set with another break of serve in the final game.
In a match that was interrupted by lighting in the area, De Minaur secured a decisive break in the seventh game of the second set and went on to complete his victory in one hour and 36 minutes.
> READ: De Minaur digs deep to reach Washington quarters
It marks a pleasing end to the business end of a tournament for De Minaur, who is now within striking distance of a top-10 return in the ATP rankings.
With no points to defend until the US Open – after he was sidelined with injury at the same time last year – De Minaur trails current No.10 Rublev by less than 100 points in the live rankings.
His semifinal appearance is his third this season (after Rotterdam and Monte Carlo), and De Minaur’s 28th in his career overall.
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