De Minaur tries to track down young superfan

PARIS : After a week in which the French Open crowd grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons, Australian Alex De Minaur launched a social media hunt for a young superfan on Saturday.

Following his 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-3 win over Jan-Lennard Struff, 11th seed De Minaur hugged the boy and gave him a towel before posting on Instagram that he would need him again when he faces Daniil Medvedev in the last 16.

"That young lad was there from the very first point till the last, with five hours of rain delay. He was this little kid that every single change of ends, every single point I won, he was screaming at my face," De Minaur told reporters.

"I'm looking at him and thinking... if I was a fan, I would probably be back home, because it was bloody cold out there. I don't understand what this kid is doing, but he gave me life."

French Open organisers posted a picture of the boy on social media site X.

"I would have given him everything in my bag," De Minaur added. "I just wasn't thinking straight with the emotions. But he deserved everything. Rackets, shoes whatever he wanted."