Alex de Minaur can be pleased with his progresses over the past twelve months. The Australian ace had a very regular season, in which he almost always defeated the players who are behind him in the ATP ranking.
The current world No.9 reached the quarterfinals in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments in 2024, failing to do so only in front of his fans at the Australian Open (where he was defeated in the round of 16 in the last three editions).
Alex gives his best in every tournament he plays and has worked hard to improve his game together with Lleyton Hewitt, who has always had great respect for him. De Minaur does not have the same power from the baseline as players like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, but he has other skills that allow him to compete at the highest level.
Alex de Minaur, ATP Finals 2024© Stream screenshot
The Australian champion is perhaps the fastest player on the ATP tour and his ability to shoot winners has improved a lot in the last two seasons. His serve has become more insidious for opponents, although it is not his primary weapon. His great consistency allowed Alex to play the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, where he was eliminated already in the group stage. De Minaur also participated in the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, but Australia had to surrender to a great Italy (as in 2023).
In a long interview with Eurosport before the start of the new season, the World No.9 revealed his main goal: “There’s nothing I would like more than to do well in Australia, so I’m doing my best to get there in the best possible state of mind.
Fitness wise, I just want to peak there, and hopefully I can go out there and play some of my best tennis.”
De Minaur on Kyrgios’ return
De Minaur won’t be Australia’s only big hope at the Happy Slam, as there will also be the highly anticipated return of Nick Kyrgios. The finalist of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships has been absent from the tour for the past two years due to a series of injuries. The Australian talent said he would like to win a prestigious title before ending his career and has been practicing very hard in recent weeks. Nick will start his 2025 at the Brisbane International, which will also serve as a preparation for the AO.
Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios© YouTube screenshot
In the same interview, de Minaur also commented on Kyrgios’ upcoming return: “I think everyone in the whole tennis world is looking forward to having him back. He’s obviously an incredible talent and has done some great things in the sport, so I’m sure the whole tennis world will be very excited to watch him play and compete again.
He’s been getting back from rehab, trying to do his best. I’ve seen he’s starting in Brisbane, so I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of eyeballs on that.”
Alex has improved a lot
Despite the progresses made in the recent period, Alex still struggles a lot against opponents like Sinner and Alcaraz. In particular, the Italian ace has always defeated him on the professional tour and has lost only one set during their matches. The two players recently faced each other at both the ATP Finals in Turin and the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, with the world No. 1 winning in straight sets on both occasions.
After recovering his energy, the Australian champion successfully participated in the UTS Grand Final in London, the alternative tour created by top coach Patrick Mouratoglou that offers players a very interesting prize money.
Jannik Sinner & Alex de Minaur, ATP Finals 2024© Stream screenshot
Speaking with ‘Tennis365’, de Minaur opened up on the UTS events: “I’ve played a couple of the UTS events now and I’ve enjoyed it. Having only one serve is an interesting mindset change and I enjoy trying to adapt to it.
I find the noise and chaos of UTS a little easier to deal with when I know it’s coming and that’s the case in UTS. When everything is quiet, you hear every noise, but it’s never quiet at UTS and it showed me that I can play like that.
He also added: “You get used to the fact that the crowd are going nuts, screaming and the music is playing and it means you have to find a different way to focus in on playing points.
The money is also good at the UTS events and that makes it super competitive. We are all out there trying to win and that big pay cheque at the end of the week is driving everyone on. It gets the best out of the players.”
Tennis World USA