AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 21, 2023

Alex De Minaur

Press Conference

A. de MINAUR/B. Bonzi

7-6, 6-2, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the press conference of Alex de Minaur.

Congratulations, Alex. I will quote to lyrics, "Don't worry, be happy." Are you happy with your performance today and getting to the fourth round at your home slam?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, extremely happy. Happy to be able to do it in back-to-back years, and giving myself another chance and opportunity to go deep in my home slam, which is ultimately what I want to be doing.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You seemed to step it up today. Was that a conscious effort getting into the second week or just the way it all unfolded?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I think ultimately if you want to go deep, and you want to really take it to the best players in the world, that's the game plan. I mean, you've got to step it up. It's no secret that against the best in the world you can't just put the ball in the court and wait for them to miss, because that's just not gonna happen.

Yeah, it is a conscious effort, but I think today I did what I needed to do and got the job done, so we move on. Happy with that.

Q. You've been at this stage before. You touched on it, back-to-back years. You talked ahead of the tournament you want to be top 10. You want to start going deeper in these Grand Slam tournaments. Potentially Novak or Grigor. It's a big step up.

ALEX de MINAUR: 100%, but these are the matches you want to be playing. You don't want a walkover into the final of a slam. You want to be playing the best in the world.

That's what I've got. I'm gonna probably have the best in the world in front of me, and I'm ready for the battle. I want to take it to them and show what I'm made of, you know, in the biggest of stages and just test myself out there and really take it to them.

Q. How much do you relish having the entire crowd at Rod Laver Arena behind you and being that person that is the focal point on center court? It's not something that every Australian tennis player gets to do. How much do you relish that opportunity?

ALEX de MINAUR: Oh, it's amazing. Honestly, as I said on court, as a kid growing up, those are the stages you want to be playing on.

Look, I've had the incredible luck, opportunity, to play on that court, and I've played it in different matches. Today I played third day match. To be honest, there's been day matches where the court isn't as full and I wasn't sure what to expect.

To see a packed Rod Laver Arena was pretty special, you know, all having my back. It's always the wave going, seeing them genuinely excited to see me play. It's one of those, you know, moments where you just gotta pinch yourself and stay in the moment, really.

Extremely special.

Q. We sort of watched you grow up here in front of our eyes. Can you think back to that first year in 2016 in quallies, what were you like then? Can you tell us the Alex of that era?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, well, even though it may not look like it, I was way skinnier back then (smiling). I was probably rounding about 65 kgs, the following year I got my main draw debut. I was rocking a powerful 69 kg back then.

Yeah, to be honest, like, it's probably the same old child, kid in my head, but I've definitely enjoyed every second of it. I mean, just to look back, and like I've done my whole career, just tried to improve day by day. That's what I've been doing. Every year getting a bit bigger, a bit stronger, working on different aspects of my game.

You know, overall, I'm getting better. I'm taking it to the top guys in the world, making it deep into slams. It's all about chasing that goal of being amongst the best in the world.

Q. How much of a difference do you think being in your home slam on that court makes for you? I mean, does it make you 10% better, 5% better? What do you think it's like for an opponent going up against you here versus, I don't know, Indian Wells or some other maybe neutral location?

ALEX de MINAUR: Look, it's no secret that I love playing here in my backyard. I think the Aussie crowd is amazing. They've had my back from day dot. So I'll always cherish that.

I think the ultimate goal is that, you know, no matter where I'm playing, whether it's Court 27 at some random place, that I'm going to be equally as tough to beat than on center court here.

Now, I think the difference is that the opponents not only have to play against me but they've got to play against me and the whole crowd. Right? That's probably the difference.

But I think the opponent is the same. I'm the same. I try to bring it every single place I step out on court. You know, the goal is to go deep everywhere I go. I mean, that's the ultimate goal.

You know, I am sure that I'm going to achieve it. It's taken time, but I'm feeling very good about myself, happy with where the level is at, where I'm progressing, and ultimately I'm going to keep on improving and achieving that goal.

Q. I wanted to ask you, because Alexei is playing in a while, you are good friends, and you meant in Spain. I wanted to ask you, what are your memories of that time in your childhood in Spain with Alexei?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I've grown up with Alexei, we're both the same age. We both spent a little bit of time in Spain at different stages of our lives.

Yeah, I mean, I've grown up with him. I've played under12 tournaments with him, I think even under10 tournaments and all the way through juniors. He's always been about twice the height of me (smiling), even from a young age. That's what I remember. He had obviously very long hair. Yeah, basically the same sort of player, you know. Big serve, big forehand.

But, yeah, it's amazing to see him just lighting it up in the biggest stage in front of his home crowd. It's truly special. I really, really hope that he can have a great day today, and keep this amazing momentum he's got going, and, you know, showing the level he's capable of.

Hopefully it's a big year for him, and we can do some special things for Australian tennis.

Q. We don't know for certain who you play next. If you do play Novak, it's no secret he's carrying a little bit of a hamstring niggle at least. What have you got in store for him if you play him and how do you think you'll be able to exploit him with some of your strengths?

ALEX de MINAUR: Look, I'm not going to read into too much of that injury. Ultimately he's one of the best players in the world, and I'm just going to have to take it to him and not shy away from the occasion. I'm going to make sure to make it as tough as I can, and, you know, just bring the recent experience I've had on court and how I've been feeling.

Just ultimately it's not shy away from the opportunity and the occasion. I mean, this is the matches I want. It's going to be exciting. I will get fired up, get the crowd behind me, and I'll definitely have a good time.

Q. If you play Grigor? You have beaten him a couple of times. How does that match up?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I think Grigor, he's up there with one of the most talented players on tour. I mean, his top level is exceptional. He makes tennis look very, very easy.

If I play Grigor, I've got to know that he's going to play some incredible tennis. I've just got to be very tough mentally and just try to stick to my game, try to be as solid as I can and take any little opportunity I can get.

It's going to be both battles, which I will be ready for.

Q. A lot of players during the tournament have been saying that the balls are softer and flatter this year. What's been your experience? Have you noticed anything different? Has that helped or hindered you?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I have heard a lot of players voicing their opinions on the balls. To be honest, it's been difficult, because I have played two matches during nighttime basically and it's been colder conditions and it's felt quite slow. The whole practice week prior to playing here, we have had amazing weather and it was hot every day. The balls felt like they were really flying out there.

Today I played during the day, but still not as hot as it was. It really has felt like different conditions and the balls have played differently every time I stepped out on court. It's been tough to kind of get used to it, but, yeah, one of the big things I have been trying to do is just be more versatile, adapt to the conditions, and just, you know, not make a big fuss of these things, you know, just try to adapt.

You know, if I'm not complaining about these things, it's not in my head, then when I'm playing a tough pressure situation, I don't have that in the back of my head. So just one less thing to worry about for me.