Australian tennis star Alex de Minaur believes he’s “converted into a clay specialist” after beating Daniil Medvedev to progress into the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.

De Minaur produced some of the best tennis in his career to topple the former US Open champion, requiring just under three hours to defeat Medvedev 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3.

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The victory also means De Minaur is the first Australian male in 20 years to reach the last eight in Paris.

Prior to this year’s tournament, De Minaur had failed to progress beyond the second round in his previous seven attempts at the French Open.

However, a quarterfinal berth at the Monte-Carlo Masters, a tournament also held on clay, coupled with his stunning run at Roland Garros has the Aussie thinking this surface might be his best.

“I always thought for me to play well on the clay I needed hot, lively conditions, but this whole tournament has proven otherwise,” De Minaur said in his post-match press conference.

“It’s been a complete shock to the system to everything I ever believed in.

“And now, the toughest thing is dealing with my team because they’ve got bragging rights. They gave me a lot of slack for me complaining all these years of my level on the clay, but now it looks like it’s one of my best slam results.

“It looks like I’ve converted myself into a clay specialist.”

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